Pulled Under
by Alice Harkey
Summary: DISCLAIMER:I DO NOT OWN MERLIN!ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO BBC Arthur is still oblivious to Merlin's magic, and yet he is pulled into the utter chaos that is Merlin's life. Will he begin to understand the situation before he's completely pulled under? Escelia OC
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR NOTE- See everyone? I'm not dead! I was just writing another story for you all. Lately I've been obsessed with Merlin, and for good reason. It's an absolutely AMAZING series on BBC! although I watch it on SyFy. so here's an extended summary of the story.**

***Arthur is still oblivious to Merlin's magic, and yet he is pulled into the utter chaos that is Merlin's life. Arthur just thinks of it as bad luck: Morgana taking control of the Camelot, being summoned by a dragon he thought to be dead, being unyeildingly hunted by Morgana and her men, and Merlin, his best friend, coming down with a mysterious, deadly ilness. Will he find the source of all this? Will he begin to understand the situation before he's completely pulled under?***

***DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN MERLIN! BBC OWNS ALL RIGHTS!***

"It's getting dark; we should stop here for the night," Arthur said.

"Agreed," Gwaine sighed. His usual upbeat and taunting self faded and was replaced with a weary expression. "I can't walk another step. I'm exhausted!"

Arthur nodded at the two knights who'd fled with Merlin and Arthur: Sir Leon and Sir Gwaine. The young king raised his eyebrows at his servant for guidance.

"Do you think it's _safe_ to stop here?" he questioned. Merlin looked around surveying the dark perimeter.

"Yeah, I think we should be safe here. It's hard to tell though."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see, now won't we? We'll set up camp here. Nothing too big, we don't want Morgana and her men to be able to track us easily. Merlin, set up a small fire would you?" he asked sighing.

"I'm on it," the servant replied, looking around to spot a small, dry patch of dirt. He began to move toward it when suddenly Arthur grabbed his arm.

"A _small _fire, Merlin," he said through his teeth.

"Of course, my lord," Merlin replied, bowing his head. Then, Arthur left to help the two knights find firewood. It seemed that all four of them knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Merlin knelt down by the patch of dirt and clawed at it, making a small hole big enough for the fire they'd need. Gwaine returned and presented some small twigs and kindling, along with the flint to start the fire. Next to Merlin were the small, yet thick, sticks that Arthur and Leon had found.

Merlin began to try and light the fire, but his attempts were unsuccessful.

"What's taking you so long? Don't you know how to start a fire?" Arthur shouted impatiently. It was obvious to see that the weariness and irritability that everyone had obtained while on the long run to escape Morgana and her men, was finally letting itself be known.

"Yes my lord, I do but these sticks are damp and they won't light easily." Merlin struggled to keep his own irritation in check. He knew he could light it easily, but not with everyone else looking, especially with Arthur watching. All he needed was a few seconds.

The knights groaned with exhaustion as they headed back into the forest immediately surrounding our site to find some drier, more ignitable twigs. Arthur had his back turned. _Now's my chance!_ Merlin thought to himself.

He positioned his hand above the small pile of twigs, "Beal on byrne," he whispered as quietly as his voice would allow him to. Instantly, they burst into a small flame and the young warlock smiled with satisfaction at the completion of his task. "Got it," he said louder so that Arthur could hear, and set a few small sticks on top of the now flaming pile of twigs.

"Well, it's about time!" Arthur shouted as he waddled over to the fire and sat next to it for warmth. He wrapped his arms tightly around his knees to try and sustain all the heat that he could.

Leon and Gwaine began to approach, but their footsteps slowed with caution, noticing the young and now extremely irritable king's temper.

"What's got you all upset, princess?" Gwaine played. He was only trying to lighten the mood, but to no avail. Arthur threw him a menacing glare of irritation that said, 'Lay off the name calling or you're dead!' Merlin frowned at his friend, and Leon too, disapproved of Gwaine's comment. Turning to face Arthur, Merlin said,

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Arthur sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.

"I've let my people down, Merlin. I'm not worthy to be their king."

"But you _are _their king," Merlin retorted, and Arthur simply let out another sigh.

"Not anymore." Arthur stared at the ground, face blank, Arthur's spirit, truly nowhere to be found. There was a long, thoughtful moment of silence that was eventually broken by Merlin's voice.

"So what you're saying is that if I walked into Camelot and sat on that throne, I'd be the king?" he asked. Arthur's face twisted into an expression of what seemed to be horror.

"_What?_" he shouted. "Merlin… that is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my entire life! And trust me; I've heard some pretty stupid things come out of your mouth over the years." The knights laughed as the loyal servant to the king began his humorous pep-talk.

"Oh, well okay if what I'm saying is stupid then correct me if I'm wrong, but you are still. The. King!" Merlin spoke loud and slow in an attempt to really get his words to sink into Arthur's mind.

"Well, you're wrong. Morgana's defeated me. She-"

"Marched into Camelot and sat on the throne! Let me tell you; if I can't just sit on the throne and be king then Morgana sure as hell can't!" Merlin laughed slightly and the two knights sat gaping at the way the servant spoke to his king. They'd know that they were friends of a sort, but how close the two were had been a mystery to them. Arthur was _allowing _Merlin to talk to him like that, and Arthur was taking every word Merlin said to heart.

"I… guess you're right… _Mer_lin!" the king laughed. The mood around the fire had suddenly lightened at the sound of the once very depressed king's laugh, but Arthur's face soon fell again. "Even so, how would I take my kingdom back from this false queen if I can't even defend my life, let alone the lives of my men? She is just… too strong."

Merlin joined Arthur in sadness, as Merlin knew Arthur was right. They didn't possess the strength to defeat Morgana. Their swords were no match for her magic. Merlin, however, knew he could at least attempt to bring her down for a short time. At least long enough for Arthur to strike, anyways. Merlin was all that they needed. The answer sat idly beside them all, but he wouldn't dare tell Arthur that. Not now. Not yet.

Arthurs face had begun to soften as he got further and further into thought.

"You know Merlin, you never cease to amaze me," Arthur finally said. Merlin's deep, blue eyes stared at him with confusion. "What I mean to say is that I just can't understand you Merlin. One minute you're a total buffoon and the next…" he opened and closed his mouth trying to find the appropriate way to say what was on his mind. "Well, the next, you sound like one of the wisest men I've ever known," he finished with a serious tone. Merlin smiled.

"What? Who me, wise? Arthur I'm worried you've come down with a fever," he laughed. They both glanced over at the two knights across from them and upon noticing their outrageously hilarious looking expressions, fought to muzzle themselves. Glancing at each other, they could no longer help it. They burst into a frenzy of laughter and the knights joined in so not to feel left out of anything. Their laughter definitely seemed to be contagious though.

After the seconds turned to minutes, the laughter began to die and fade, and the four fell silent around the fire.

"We should get some rest," the king said as he pushed himself back to a tree. All nodding in agreement, Merlin put the fire out and covered in completely with the dirt he'd dug from the hole.

Merlin had lain himself down on the cold forest floor, but very little sleep came to him that night. All the thoughts and fears running through his mind would not allow him to sleep, making it impossible for him to close his eyes. He kept thinking about Morgana and Agravaine. Though he'd killed Agravaine, he'd figured out he was Emrys. He'd killed the man by using magic and feared more than anything that Morgana, who'd followed close behind Agravaine, had seen him do it. '_She couldn't know that I'm Emrys! She just couldn't! How on earth would Morgana know that I'm Emrys?' _he kept thinking. He kept telling himself that there was little chance that Morgana knew who he really was, but he could help the feeling in the pit of his stomach that bubbled and churned, making him feel sick. Someone was after him. His senses were screaming at him, telling him to run, to hide, that she was after him.

"Emrys, she's coming for you," a voice suddenly said, and Merlin sprang up, eyes scanning the entire perimeter. Finally his eyes fell upon a hooded figure, staring at him from the edge of their campsite.

"She's coming."

**END NOTE- So who do you think this mysterious character is? Tell me what you thought of the story so far. How soon I update next depends on how many reviews I get by the way, so please review. *gives puppy-dog eyes* even if its only just a few words.**


	2. Chapter 2

**READ & REVIEW**

***DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN MERLIN! BBC DOES!***

"_She's coming for you."_

It was the voice of a young girl. Everyone was on their feet, swords drawn, ready to defend themselves against whoever or _whatever_ now stood at the edge of their campsite.

"Be still," the beautiful voice said, and it held out its hand in front of it in a coaxing manner. With its other hand, it reached for its hood and lowered it to reveal a young woman; her long, golden-brown curls flowed elegantly down over her shoulders. "I mean you no harm. I only wish to help," she said. Her voice was calm and her words came out with immaculate grace and beauty.

"A druid," Arthur growled.

"The witch, Morgana, is searching for you. She intends to kill you and will not rest until she has succeeded in doing so. My people have sent me to offer you refuge at our camp," she said directing her attention at Merlin. Only Merlin seemed to notice, but she was talking to him nonetheless.

"Why would the druids help us? What are you getting out of it?" Arthur spat at the druid girl.

"A brighter future, Arthur Pendragon." A smile crept onto her face. "The future we've all awaited for so long is nearly upon us, but if you don't come with me now, I'm afraid that future will cease to exist," she continued. Her face fell considerably as she mentioned her long awaited future and its possibility of being destroyed.

There was shouting in the distance; battle cries, screams of determination as the pursuers searched for the' fallen' king. At least, that's what Morgana wanted Arthur to be.

"If you stay here, you will die," the young woman stated as the cries grew louder.

"Alright, fine. Let's go! But, I'll have you know that I only go with you because I have a duty to my people to fight for Camelot, and to fight for them, and dying surely isn't going to help them," Arthur sneered. The girl nodded and ran forward toward Merlin. Arthur watched her warily as she reached out and grasped Merlin's wrist tightly.

"Everyone, come close and hold on to one another," she yelled softly. Arthur, Leon, and Gwaine clung tightly to Merlin's other arm, not trusting the druid girl. _"Emrys, please lend me your power for this spell. 'Tis a simple spell, but a powerful one. Please, you must help if you and your friends are to get to safety!" _the druid pleaded to Merlin with her mind.

"_Of course," _Merlin replied with a soft nod of his head. The sorceress began to incant the spell, and Merlin, wrist still held, clutched the woman's wrist in return. He let his magic flow into the spell she was incanting, and with the power of his magic combined with hers, they teleported almost instantaneously to the druid camp. The spell had been executed with simplicity; it was no challenge with the contribution of Merlin's power.

* * *

><p>A gust of wind rushed through the trees surrounding the druid camp; its source was the five people who were now standing in the camp, who hadn't been there a second ago. The heads of the residents all turned to settle their eyes on the group that had just arrived. Merlin remembered seeing most of their faces before, including Iseldir's. All the druids greeted them with warm smiles, but more specifically they greeted Merlin. He trusted the druids. After all, they were his kin, but Merlin couldn't help the fear that they would let his secret slip. He'd been a bit on edge lately, along with Leon, Gwaine, and Arthur. They'd all been a bit shaken, and still were, from the incident inside the citadel of the castle, where they'd learned of Agravaine's betrayal only a week ago.<p>

The woman walked over to Iseldir, informing him of the king's acceptance to their offer for refuge. Arthur followed her and the knights trailed behind him as he began to thank the druid leader for his kindness. Merlin stayed farther behind, putting a distance between himself and his companions, but it wasn't long before the mysterious druid girl was in front of him.

"I'm terribly sorry for failing to introduce myself before," she apologized, tilting her head to the side slightly. "My name is Escelia." She held out her hand and Merlin reached out to shake it smiling.

"I'm—,"

"I know who you are," Escelia interrupted. She bowed her head. "And I must say it is an honor to be in your presence, Lord Emrys." Merlin hoped with all his might that Arthur wouldn't look over and see the… unusual situation.

The warlock's face twisted into an expression of confusion and worry. _"Lord Emrys."_ The words rang through his mind.

"Call me Merlin, please." Escelia nodded. "And please, you mustn't tell-." She interrupted again.

"Do not fear my lord; we have no intentions of telling King Arthur who you are. We all know that time is not yet upon us; not at this moment at least." Merlin smiled gratefully at her.

"Thank you, Escelia," he said, his smile growing as a smile appeared on her face as well. The two began walking to the center of the camp to join Iseldir, Arthur, and the knights.

"Ah, Merlin my boy," Iseldir began, delighted to see his young friend. His expression dimmed though upon noticing the dark half-circles under Merlin's eyes in the light of the fire. "Oh, you look utterly exhausted! Well, you all do," he stated as he glanced over at the knights. They looked as if they would collapse at any moment. "Come; you all need to rest. We have some extra tents that you may use," he said.

They followed Iseldir to some empty tents that inside held three cots and two bedside tables.

"This will be you tent, Arthur. You will have to share it with you two friends here though," Iseldir said leading the way into the tent with his outstretched arm.

"Well, what about _Mer_lin? Where will he be sleep?" Arthur asked with irritation pouring from his voice.

"We have given him the tent next to yours, of course." Iseldir smiled slightly as Arthur pursed his lips together. It wasn't anger that had washed over Arthur, more it was annoyance. 'Why does _he _get his own tent,' Arthur thought to himself. Even though he felt his servant was being treated better than he was, he held his tongue, grateful that he had a bed to sleep on and a tent surrounding him.

They all stood in Arthur's tent, and Arthur glared at Merlin with jealousy.

"When you walk out, your tent will be to your left, Merlin. Now sleep. You must have all endured many challenges in the past few days." Iseldir said his parting words and left. Merlin felt a twinge of guilt. He had his own tent while his king had to share a tent with the knights. Merlin didn't think that would've been such a big deal, but more specifically he had to share a tent with Gwaine.

Arthur turned and threw his sword down on the cot.

"What's the matter princess? Upset that you can't have a tent to yourself?" Gwaine teased. Arthur shot a menacing glare at him and Gwaine just laughed.

"Is there anything you need, sire?" Merlin chimed in. "Perhaps I could get you an extra blanket or kill Gwaine, or maybe get you some water or, you know… kill Gwaine." Merlin chuckled and his big goofy grin danced across his face. Arthur laughed slightly at his manservant's offer to kill the most annoying knight he'd ever known in his life.

"Oh, I would love you see you try, my friend," Gwaine laughed. Leon joined in laughing and the mood was lightened considerably.

"But really, is there anything you need, sire?" Merlin repeated. He clasped his hands behind his back and stood tall.

"As of this minute, no, but thank you Merlin," Arthur sighed. Merlin bowed and left, entering his tent to find a rather large cot and a single bedside table next to it. The tent glowed from the light of a single candle on the table.

Merlin sat on his cot and rubbed the nape of his neck. He was completely exhausted, but still couldn't manage to peacefully close his eyes. Of all the things Merlin didn't want to do at that moment, thinking was the worst, but still he thought. He sat thinking about everything; about Gaius, Gwen, Morgana, Camelot, Arthur, Gwaine, Leon, Escelia, Iseldir, and Freya. He almost hated thinking about Freya, because every time he did, it brought tears to his eyes and pain to his heart. But even the thought of Freya didn't surpass the thought of the druids at that moment. He kept thinking about the way Escelia had addressed him. "Lord Emrys," she'd said, and Merlin didn't quite understand. He wasn't a noble, so why was he being addressed as one?

His train of thought was broken when he heard someone clear their throat outside of his tent. His gaze snapped to its entrance and Arthur's head popped in through the door.

"Arthur, uh… did you need something?" Merlin asked, still sitting on the cot.

"Uh, may I come in?" Arthur asked shyly. He looked unbelievably tired.

"You're the king… You could come in here even if I didn't want you too," Merlin pointed out. Arthur nodded and stepped inside the tent, taking a seat next to his servant.

"Merlin, can I just… speak with you about something?"

"Of course, you can tell me anything."

"Back in Camelot, when you were running from Morgana, had she said anything to you in particular?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"No, I don't believe so. If she said anything, I don't think it was to me directly." Merlin wrinkled his brow, confused as to where the king was taking the conversation. He moved away from Arthur slightly turning to face him better and pulled his legs up onto the cot. He folded his legs and let his hands fall into his lap.

"Are you sure, Merlin?" Arthur pressed on. "Did she mention the name Emrys to you at all?"

Merlin flinched. He figured that Arthur must've heard Morgana when she'd accused "Emrys".

"_Emrys… This is the work of Emrys! I just know it is! He put you up to this didn't he?" Morgana cried in terror. She shriveled back in fear at the mention of his name. "Emrys put you up to this, didn't he? Didn't he!" she screamed in horror_

"I did hear her mention the name," Merlin finally responded.

"Merlin, tell me, do you think that this "Emrys" is an ally of ours? Do you think there's such a thing as a sorcerer who is not evil?" Arthur asked thoughtfully.

"Oh absolutely," Merlin replied almost enthusiastically. "I believe that maybe magic itself isn't evil, more it's the way in which it is used that determines whether it is evil or not; much like a sword. In the hands of someone who is evil, a sword can strike down the lives of innocent people and can be just as evil as the person who uses it, but in the hand of a fair and just person, it can do many great things."

"So you agree that Emrys is on our side?" Arthur clarified the question again.

"Perhaps he is. Morgana cowered at the mention of his name. He _must_ be an enemy of Morgana at the very least," Merlin responded. He knew that Emrys was their ally though and laughed inwardly at how oblivious Arthur was. Emrys had been Arthur's ally long before now, and he always would be. Merlin would always make sure of that.

"Merlin, will you help me search for this sorcerer? Perhaps if we ask the druids here… Maybe they will know of him," Arthur suggested. It seemed as if he were pleading for help.

"Why would you need my help to talk to the druids?" Merlin asked bluntly.

"It seems that the druids fancy you a bit more than me, although I can understand why. I don't blame them either." Arthur frowned, remembering all too well the crimes his father had committed against the druids.

After a moment of consideration, Merlin finally answered, "Yes, I'll help you, Arthur." Merlin knew that saying otherwise would cause suspicion. Arthur clasped Merlin's shoulder.

"Thank you, Merlin. This means a great deal to me." With that said, Arthur roamed back into his tent to get some rest and Merlin attempted to close his eyes for the sleep that just wouldn't come to him. He let his head rest on the pillow that was provided on the cot and turned to blow the candle out.

He sat in the dark for what seemed like hours, and he wondered why it seemed that sleep was so dedicated to evading him.

"_Merlin,"_ a voice suddenly sounded. His name echoed through his mind, much like it did the first few days he'd ever been in Camelot. Actually, it sounded _exactly_ the same as it did when he'd arrived in Camelot. He felt that perhaps it was just a very vivid memory, but then the voice sounded again. _"Merlin!" _ Kilgharrah was calling him. 'But why now?' Merlin wondered.

"_Merlin, Arthur, you must come to me."_ Kilgharrah's voice sounded again. Merlin shot up. The Great Dragon had called out to Merlin _and _Arthur! Merlin wondered if that meant that Arthur could hear Kilgharrah as well.

"Did you hear that?" Arthur shouted barging into Merlin's tent. 'So Arthur did hear Kilgharrah!' Merlin concluded.

"Hear what?" Merlin asked, trying to act oblivious.

"There was this voice that had said your name. Then it said _my _name! The strangest part was that the sound was from… inside my head. Are you telling me you didn't hear it too?"

"No, Arthur, I didn't hear anything," Merlin lied again.

"_Merlin, do not ignore me!" _Kilgharrah demanded strongly.

"See? There it was again! _Mer_lin, you liar, you can hear it, can't you?" Arthur stated. Merlin sighed.

"Fine, yes I can hear it."

"Then why did you lie to me!" Arthur shouted angrily. Merlin hoped that Arthur's volume wouldn't wake up the entire camp.

"I was hoping that it was just my imagination playing tricks on me from lack of sleep."

"_Young Pendragon, you and your friend, you must come to me."_

"There it is _again_!" Arthur threw his hands in the air. He looked fed up with that voice. "How do I communicate with a voice in my head? He says to go to him, but how? How am I to ask him where to find him?"

"_You need not. Arthur, I will guide you. You must come to me, and you must listen."_

"Why on earth would I listen to someone that is in my head?" Arthur asked coldly rolling his eyes.

"Uh, Arthur… you _are_ listening to that voice in your head," Merlin pointed out.

"_Perhaps I was mistaken then. Perhaps you truly do not wish to make an ally of Emrys."_

Arthur froze and tensed. 'Damn that dragon!' Merlin swore inwardly. Was the dragon suddenly fixed on getting his master _killed_? Arthur's expression turned to determination and he stared at the ground.

"I will come to you; wherever you are," Arthur responded to the voice.

"Arthur what are you doing?" Merlin cried.

**END NOTE- What do you think now? how am I doing? PLEASE review! please do feel free to review if you have any questions, comments, or criticism. AGAIN i will tell you that how often i update this story depends on how many reviews i get. i really want to see if my fans are as eager to read my stories as i am to write them! **

**So how do you like Escelia? I'm thinking of what else i should do with her in the story. i kinda wanted her to play a key role in the development of the story but i'm not sure how. if you have any suggestions, i'll gladly accept them.**


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTE**

******So in a lot of the reviews I've gotten, you've said that I should NOT let Escelia get between Merlin and Arthur. DO NOT WORRY! I had NO intentions of every letting her get in between the two. Also, I do not intend for Escelia to be in a relationship with Merlin, nor will I ever. Freya is the only girl for Merlin. *giggles like a fangirl* **

**Anyways, I've been getting more and more booked with school work and whatnot. OGT's are coming up in march, so you can only imagine how much _more _crazy things are going to get. I'll still attempt to update frequently, just for you guys and/or girls!**

**I've had suggestions that the chapters should be just a little bit longer. It's not that I have a problem with that, it's just that typing a longer chapter means hiding from my mother longer *I'm usually _supposed_ to be doing homework when I'm actually typing up my stories* However, it is FRIDAY *shoots the person who started singing Rebecca Black's: Friday* so I have until about 6:00PM to type up a chapter. Then maybe when i get home from pep-band I'll keep writing. I promise, I love writing this fanfinc as much as you love reading it. It's one of the only things I think about during school. "Gotta get home and type my Merlin fanfiction!"**

**Also I realize that I failed to tell you all when and where the start of this fanfiction is set, so here you go. **

**Pulled Under is set in S4 "The Sword in the Stone (Part 1)" After Merlin had used a spell on Arthur (which was suggested by Gaius) so that he wouldn't act on his own will (since he would never abandon his people by his own will) **

**There you have it! Keep on your toes for the next chapter, because I should either have it updated tonight or sometime tomorrow. Either way, expect the next chapter soon!**

**-Allie-K loves you all! PEACE**


	4. Chapter 4

***DISCLAIMER: I DON NOT OWN MERLIN! BBC DOES!***

**See? I promised I'd have this chapter uploaded today. It's pretty late in the day but still today nonetheless. Okay so I've read all the reviews and I think that if you read through this chapter (and i know you will) you'll find that i took your opinion into consideration. Oh, and head's up, the late middle section of this chapter might be a little confusion/poorly written. I was kind of drawing a blank and couldn't quite get the words down exactly how I wanted to but I tried my best. But, enough with my rambling. You aren't here for me, you're here for my story. But, if you are here for me, then I'd be okay with that. I'd be happy about that in fact. Anyways, enjoy!**

"Arthur, are you mad?" Merlin cried.

"Maybe so," Arthur replied, he turned and stormed out of Merlin's tent and Merlin sprang from the cot to bolt after him. Arthur had fetched his sword, no doubt it was for the journey he planned to make, to meet the dragon. Merlin laughed inwardly, because only he knew that it was a dragon that Arthur was going to meet.

"_So you have decided to come to me after all,"_ the dragon said. Arthur stood outside his tent staring at the ground.

"Yes I have."

"Arthur, this is insane! You could be walking into a trap!" Merlin cried, trying to reason with the king.

"I don't care! If there's a chance that someone can help us reclaim Camelot…" Arthur trailed off. Merlin was quick to come up with an alternative.

"We could ask the druids for help," Merlin suggested. His voice was slightly shaking, and he felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"I've made my decision," Arthur said stubbornly. "I'm going." Merlin whined with annoyance.

"And what about the knights? What do you think will happen if they wake up before you're back?" Merlin asked, gesturing to the tent behind the stubborn king.

"You'll stay here then, and make up an explanation as to why I'm gone," Arthur answered calmly. Now Merlin growled with frustration.

"You stubborn prat! You're forgetting something you dollop head!"

"_Arthur, you __**and**__ Merlin must come. That is what must be done if you are to learn anything from me."_

"See?" Merlin asked pointing a finger up at the starry, night sky.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it. I've got to take you with me," Arthur sighed. Merlin folded his arms in triumph and smiled. "Well, let's go."

"W- What?" Merlin stuttered.

"Well you heard… _it_. You have to come with me."

"I'm not going! I've told you that going would be, well, a bad idea!" Merlin stressed the fact that he had indeed said it was a bad idea to go out roaming for a voice with no owner, at least that's what it was in Arthur's case. "But, of course you never do listen to me."

"You're coming with me, and that is an order from you're king!" Arthur said through his teeth. Merlin sighed in defeat. He wouldn't disobey his king's orders; not those ones anyway. He knew that Arthur had made his choice and felt a fool as to think that he would now choose otherwise.

The king and his servant had walk a good distance away from the druid camp and now stood alone in the dark forest.

"Where do I go? How am I going to find you?" Arthur asked the sky, waiting for a response.

"_Your servant, Merlin, would have a better chance at finding me than you would. You slack in noticing the much smaller things around you; small things, yet the most important things," _the dragon's voice explained. Kilgharrah and his seemingly impossible riddles; it was a feature of the dragon that would never fade.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Arthur spat. A cold breeze swept over the forest floor that sent shivers up the spines of Merlin and Arthur. There was an uneasy feeling in the wind that made Merlin shudder. 'The direction… the direction of the wind,' Merlin thought. That was it! That was the hint given to them as to where Kilgharrah was!

"This way," Merlin shouted, walking in the direction the wind had blown him.

"What do you mean? How could you possibly know which way to go?" Arthur asked in confusion.

"The wind, didn't you notice it?" Merlin questioned as he paused, looking at Arthur.

"Yes, but it was just wind. Although it did seem to have a strange feel to it," Arthur admitted. He gradually began to catch on to how Merlin knew which way to go. "Oh…" Arthur finally realized that the wind was the clue, and that Merlin, his servant, had caught onto the clue with ease. He stood frozen in awe at how the word's the voice had said were true. Indeed they had been a riddle, but once it'd been solved, the words it held were unbelievably true.

Merlin's big goofy grin erupted across his face as he watched Arthur's expression (what would now be called "the Light Bulb Moment") light up his face. Merlin continued to walk and Arthur trailed behind. It was rather odd, since it was usually Merlin who trailed behind while Arthur led the way.

"_Only a little further, you are nearly there."_

"Of course we are," complained Arthur sarcastically. "Merlin, are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Yes," Merlin replied, saddened that Arthur didn't have faith in him to at least know where he was going.

"_Young Pendragon, have faith in Merlin."_

Arthur stayed silent, not acknowledging the voice's most recent comment.

They'd walked for what seemed like hours before they finally reached a small empty clearing. The wind stopped almost immediately after they set foot on the soft grass of the clearing.

"There's… nothing here," Arthur observed with disappointment.

"No, I am here young Pendragon," the voice sounded. It was now an audible voice and Arthur looked everywhere in freight. The dragon swooped down; its enormous wings created gusts of wind that nearly knocked the two humans off of their feet. 'Of course, he has to make a big, dramatic entrance,' thought Merlin as he rolled his eyes at the dragon. Arthur's eyes widened at the sight of the dragon. He'd thought it to be dead, yet there is was, right in front of him. Arthur drew his sword, ready to strike against the dragon.

"Arthur, if you attack me, my instincts will tell me to defend myself. Please, I do not wish any harm upon you, I only wish to speak," Kilgharrah informed. Merlin watched the dragon warily; afraid of what the dragon was actually going to say.

Kilgharrah's words did not relieve Arthur of the fear that the dragon gave him.

"If you're not here to kill me, then why are you here?" Arthur yelled up at the dragon; his narrowed eyes still viewing it with what seemed to be hatred.

"You know why, and furthermore, _you _came to _me_. Please, do sheath your weapon."

Arthur was frustrated, but he obeyed the dragon and sheathed his sword. His patience had thinned considerably the moment that he'd learned it was the dragon that had called him. The _dragon_! He held in his eyes and his heart, hatred for the beast. It was a creature of magic, and in addition, it had attacked Camelot, nearly reducing it to rubble.

"You said you can tell me about this… Emrys," Arthur said almost questioningly, remembering why he had decided to wander out into the forest in the first place. Merlin stood quietly with his arms at his sides. He tapped his fingers on his thighs, wishing more than ever that he knew a spell that could just make him invisible, should anything take a turn for the worse.

"So I did, and I can," the dragon replied. Kilgharrah chuckled. "First, may I ask where you heard such a name?"

Arthur froze for a moment before answering, "Morgana." He clenched his fists. "She said his with such fear. She looked absolutely horrified when she mentioned his name. Why?" Arthur seemed to want to know as much as he could about the sorcerer Emrys. Merlin expected as much.

"She's right to be frightened of the warlock. After all, he is her destiny and her doom," Kilgharrah explained. "And she has knowledge of that. When she tore the veil between the worlds, she set herself on the path to her own destruction. She learned of the mighty Emrys, and with him in the world, Morgana will fall."

"So, Emrys is an enemy of Morgana?" Arthur asked. The dragon nodded.

"He is much more than an enemy of Morgana, though." The dragon laughed with pleasure. He must've found it amusing, talking about the warlock as he stood silently behind the king. The king's brow furrowed as confusion fell upon him.

"What do you mean? Is he an enemy of Camelot as well?"

"An enemy of Camelot? Emrys is strongest ally of Camelot and by far the most loyal. I feel that just calling him an enemy of Morgana would be a disgrace to his name."

"How can he be an ally of Camelot if he has magic? I have only ever seen magic used for evil. It has brought nothing but destruction!" Arthur shouted. He was confused. That was quite apparent.

"Arthur, use your brain!" Kilgharrah shouted. He was frustrated with Arthur's stubbornness, and suddenly had no idea how Merlin was able to put up with it for so long. "Anyone who would use magic for good would not do so in public. They believe you view magic as magic, that there is no good, only evil. They live in fear for their lives every day, even though they've done nothing wrong." His eyes flitted to Merlin who was almost eerily silent. If Kilgharrah hadn't been able to feel Merlin's magic, he would have forgotten Merlin was there at all.

Arthur was dumbfounded and had no idea how to respond to the dragon's words. He didn't want to have that conversation though, he was here about Emrys.

"What about Emrys?" Arthur finally asked. "He is not evil, is he? He can't be if he is, as you say, an ally of Camelot." Arthur was practically rambling on to himself, staring into space. "Do you believe that he will help me regain my kingdom?" he questioned.

"I do not believe, I know. However, I am a bit puzzled. I would imagine you to have questions about me, yet about me you are as silent as Merlin," the dragon laughed. Arthur had forgotten Merlin was there at all. He spun his head to briefly glance at Merlin. Merlin was in fact still there.

Arthur did have questions about the dragon. He had about a million questions, actually, but his thoughts had been so focused on Emrys that he hadn't realized how many questions he had. He stood silent, thinking over all the questions he had. The silence dragged on.

"How are you still alive? I though you to be dead," Arthur finally said. His words broke the deafening silence that had settled in. "I killed you."

"And yet I am standing before you. As you can see, you did not defeat me. I was sent away, never allowed to enter Camelot again."

"So, someone made you leave. I thought dragons only obey the will of a Dragonlord." Merlin was getting extremely worried. Of all the times Arthur acted like an idiot, he chose now to be intelligent.

"And you are correct." Arthur's mind reeled.

"But, the last Dragonlord is dead. I saw him die with my own eyes." Arthur kept trying to get his mind wrapped around everything he'd heard that night, and he was learning more and more. He _couldn't_ get his head wrapped around it all.

"Then I guess you are lucky that Balinor had a son. The power of a Dragonlord is passed down from father to son. It is only when the father dies that the power is passed down. The last Dragonlord, my master, saved your kingdom."

"But how would his son known to go to Camelot? Why would he have helped my father?" Arthur ran his fingers through his hair. This was all becoming too much.

"Why don't you ask him yourself? He is a friend of yours after all. " the dragon asked plainly. Merlin wasn't sure how he felt, was he angry at Kilgharrah for saying that, or was he worried that he'd say more? He couldn't tell; the emotions were so jumbled up inside of him.

"_What are you doing?"_ Merlin asked his dragon. Arthur was still confused about what the dragon had said, so he wouldn't notice the long moment of silence.

"_I am doing what must be done."_

"_So you're going to expose me. You're going to tell Arthur!" _Merlin accused.

"_I will not. That is not how it is meant to be. You and you alone, are the only one who can tell Arthur of your magic."_

"I know the last Dragonlord?" Arthur blurted out in surprise.

"As you do Emrys. They are one in the same."

"I know Emrys?" Arthur shrieked in surprise. He stared at the dragon bewildered, not knowing what to make of the words he just spoke.

"Indeed, but that is all I can say on the matter. Emrys will reveal himself when the time is right, but I am afraid I can say no more. The only other advice I can give you is to keep your friends close. You must not doubt the loyalty and trust between them and yourself, no matter what. Do this and I promise you, Arthur Pendragon, you will stand victorious in almost any situation."

Kilgharrah lifted himself from the ground and rose into the air. He beat his massive wings and rose higher and higher.

"And young Pendragon, do know that I fight on your side as well." With that the Great Dragon disappeared into the grey sky. It was then that Merlin finally spoke.

"We should be heading back. The knights will be waking soon, no doubt." Merlin strode to Arthur's side. There was no denying that Arthur had more questions now than before he spoke with the dragon. 'Kilgharrah will definitely do that to a person. Leave them with more questions by answering the initial question with a riddle,' Merlin thought.

"Of course," Arthur finally replied after a moment.

The two walked back toward the direction in which they came. The only sounds to be heard were the sounds of nature; the sounds of the world around them waking up. Arthur didn't say a word and Merlin didn't dare speak. Merlin knew the look on Arthur's face; he was thinking. It wasn't that Merlin didn't want to say anything. It was more that he didn't know what to say. He couldn't explain to Arthur, anything that Kilgharrah had said. Not without revealing his true identity, so he let Kilgharrah's words gnaw at Arthur mercilessly, because he couldn't think of anything he could do.

Arthur tried to make sense of it all; Emrys, the Dragonlord, _knowing_ the Dragonlord, knowing _Emrys_, and the dragon's final words. _'Keep your friends close. You must not doubt the trust between them and yourself, no matter what.' _Arthur was determined to figure out what it meant, but first he had to get everything else straightened out.

So Emrys was an ally of Camelot. He understood that. Emrys was also an enemy of Morgana. He understood that as well. Now, the last Dragonlord, Balinor's son, was also an ally of Camelot, right? If Emrys was the Dragonlord and the Dragonlord was Emrys that meant that if Emrys was an ally of Camelot so was the Dragonlord. They were both on his side. 'No, _he_ is on my side,' Arthur reminded himself. Emrys and the Dragonlord were the same person; just one person.

Now that Arthur had that part all straightened out, he had to figure out the other half. He knew Emrys and according to the dragon, he was _friends_ with Emrys. He just had to figure out who it was. He mentally made a list of all his closest friends: Leon, Elyan, Gwaine, Percival, and Merlin, who was perhaps his closest friend out of all of them, although he wouldn't dare admit that to anyone else. So who was Emrys?

* * *

><p>They'd walked for about an hour or so until they finally reached the druid camp. The sun was beginning to let its light drench the sky; seeping over the horizon and filtering through the trees. Arthur stole back into his tent where Leon and Gwaine were still sound asleep. Arthur let out a silent sigh of relief as he carefully lay back down on his cot, so not to disturb the other two in the tent. He closed his eyes and drifted into a light sleep, despite all the things running rampant though his mind.<p>

Merlin crept back into his own tent, though he didn't really understand the need for stealth. He was alone under the canvas of his tent. He sat on his cot and let out an exasperated sigh. It had been an emotionally draining night, whether he'd realized it before or not, he couldn't deny it now. He felt exhausted and just wanted some rest, even if it was only a few measly minutes. He sprawled himself out on the cot and closed his heavy eyelids. He could feel the darkness washing over him. Oh, that welcoming darkness that sleep provided. Merlin could wade in that darkness for hours and be at peace. He wouldn't have to worry about anything! Not about Morgana, or Camelot, or even himself for that matter. Arthur would be searching for _him_. He was Emrys, and Merlin didn't even have to worry about that.

Merlin felt himself being dragged under the blanket of darkness. He submitted himself completely and knew he didn't have to worry. Well, not until he woke up. At that moment, he awoke with a thud. He was confused. You don't wake up with a 'thud'. No, he'd woken to pain.

Merlin blinked his eyes furiously, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes so he could see how the figure that was looming over him was. When his vision cleared, he gazed upon the blond haired king, Arthur, who had rolled Merlin off of his cot onto the ground. Arthur cleared his throat impatiently.

"Whaaat?" Merlin whined.

"We have a job to do today, or were you too busy being a complete and total idiot to remember that bit?" Arthur yelled.

"Um, I'm sorry?"

"Just get up," Arthur said impatiently. "We're leaving."

"Leaving?" Merlin asked. He slowly got up. Pain shot through his back from when he'd landed on the cold, hard ground. "What's the point of leaving when you don't have anywhere to go?"

"Well, we have to… take care of something," Arthur explained. His voice held hesitation and uncertainty. Merlin could sense something was wrong. He grew cold and the color drained from his face.

"What's happened?" Merlin swallowed hard. A lump had formed in his throat. He felt a familiar presence outside, and then he heard soft screams of panic far off in the distance.

"A dragon," was all Arthur said.

**END NOTE- Dun, dun, duuun! A dragon attacking the druid camp? Wow, what was I thinking? I might be as evil as the Lady Morgana herself. I'll spare you from some of the suspense; you can expect some Aithusa action in the next chapter! Oh, I can't wait to start writing about the little guy and I hope you're eager to read! Remember, REVIEW! Knowing what you guys wanted to see in the fanfic really gave me some great ideas! I thank you all!**

**~Allie-k **


	5. Chapter 5

***DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN MERLIN! BBC DOES!***

**Sorry this chapter is a bit short, but there is a LOT going on in this one. My options were either keep going and let the reveal commence, or cut it short and leave you begging on your knees for me to rid you of the suspense I've left you with. I decided to go with the cliff hanger. Oh, and for all you Escelia haters out there, good news! Escelia has served her purpose in this chapter for the most part, which means that you won't be seeing much of her for a while. **

**Wow, I am on a roll here. I was debating on whether I should hold back this chapter for another 2 days or just publish it now, and I decided that I wanted to publish it now. You're welcome in advance. Aaanywho, without further ado, I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, Chapter 4!**

"_A dragon," was all Arthur said._

Merlin bolted out of the tent, his mind was whirling at an alarming speed. It couldn't have been Kilgharrah, Merlin and Arthur had just seen him only hours ago. He'd said he was an ally, so there was only one other explanation.

The camp was eerily quiet and the knights were fully prepared to leave. There were still quiet screams coming from the forest.

"It's got them trapped in a clearing somewhere off in the woods that way," Gwaine panted pointing in the direction Arthur and Merlin had traveled in the night before. Merlin ran into the thick nest of trees as fast as he could. He didn't stop to explain himself. He just kept running. The knights and the king were bewildered at Merlin's actions, and being at loss at for what else to do, they simply charged after him.

'No! It can't be him!'

Merlin didn't care how long he'd been running. He only cared that he got to the clearing as fast as he could, and when the clearing came into view, so did the white dragon that hovered above it. He stopped at the edge of the clearing, afraid of what he would do to the young dragon if he got too close.

"Aithusa," Merlin breathed desperately, hoping the dragon could sense his grief. Despair washed over him. The disappointment that the sight of Aithusa attacking innocent people gave him crushed him. "Why?" Merlin whispered.

"Where is Arthur Pendragon? He will pay for what he's done!" Aithusa roared. Arthur, Gwaine, and Leon charged into the clearing from the woods, running around Merlin. They were going to hurt Aithusa; they were going to kill him. Merlin wanted to punish Aithusa, yes, maybe hurt him just a little, but not kill him.

Aithusa caught sight of Arthur and charged at him with anger. Arthur raised his sword, prepared to fight back.

"You will pay—"

"Stop!" Merlin screamed in terror, running into the clearing. "Please! Just stop!" he pleaded desperately. Tears stung his eyes and threatened to cascade down his cheek. 'Why? Aithusa was supposed to be a good omen for Albion! Why is he doing this?' Merlin contemplated.

Arthur froze along with everyone else in the clearing. Aithusa had halted his attack and gazed at the boy with relief. Aithusa charged at Merlin and Arthur's heart almost leapt straight out of his chest with fear. But Aithusa did not attack Merlin. He leapt on top of Merlin, causing the raven-haired boy to topple over onto the ground. Aithusa was still pretty small, but he was larger than the size of a dog and a bit too big to be nuzzling into Merlin's neck. Arthur watched in absolute astonishment. Leon and Gwaine began to rush forward, aiming to help their friend when they'd heard Arthur let out a gasp of fear. They stopped though, peering at the unusual sight.

"I- I thought you were dead, Merlin! Morgana told me Arthur had killed you!" the young dragon whimpered. As touching as Merlin thought Aithusa's concern was, he couldn't breathe with such a massive weight on his chest.

"Can't. Breathe." Aithusa looked at Merlin worriedly then threw himself off of Merlin at the realization that it was his fault Merlin couldn't breathe.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Aithusa cried.

"Well, you should be!" Merlin snapped coldly. Arthur ran to Merlin cautiously and pulled him to his feet.

"Run," Arthur whispered. Merlin didn't have time to argue. Everyone was running from Aithusa back to the camp. Was Arthur really that stupid, or was he just scared?

"_I'm sorry Aithusa but I thought you were so much better than that. Goodbye."_

Aithusa whimpered and whined when Merlin disappeared back into the trees. He had to make sure Merlin was really okay. He had to make sure he could protect him.

When they got back to the druid camp, everyone was relieved, the dragon had not followed it seemed. Arthur however was confused and furious. Yes, he in fact could describe emotion as fury. He was furious that he didn't understand what had just happened.

"What the hell was that!" Arthur shouted at Merlin. The raven-haired boy flinched as the words struck him one by one.

"The dragon? I don't know, why are you asking me?" Merlin shot back.

"Merlin, the thing practically just into your lap," Gwaine said jumping into the conversation. Leon followed suit.

"It only stopped after you got there, Merlin. It only stopped when it saw you," Leon said calmly, staring at the baffled serving boy. Merlin had to come up with an explanation hastily. He decided to stick with the story that he had no idea what just happened and was just as confused as everyone else.

"Merlin, what happened?" Arthur asked. His voice was calm and steady, but it dripped with confusion.

"I don't know what happened," Merlin tried to say convincingly. He had to be convincing. He didn't want Arthur to know who he was yet. He trusted Arthur with his life and believed that Arthur trusted him too, but it was himself that he didn't quite trust. He couldn't explain it.

Arthur seemed to believe him; for the moment anyway. The young king began to tend to the druids. He checked for anyone who might have been injured, and he promised that he would not let anything like that happen again. For someone who supposedly hated anything that had to do with magic, Arthur treated the druids as if they were his own people. Merlin stood behind Arthur the king inspected a small scratch on a child's arm.

"You'll be alright," he smiled at the young girl. "It's nothing a little laughter can't fix," he said tickling the girl's side. She giggled and squirmed and squealed with joy. "See?" The young girl nodded and ran off to join her older brother.

"I had no idea you were so good with children," Merlin commented. Arthur watched the girl run off with a smile on her face.

"It was something my father used to do to cheer me up when I was young." Merlin smiled. He knew Uther hadn't been a bad man. He had a good heart, but he was blinded by fear and hatred. He pitied Uther most of the time, because Merlin knew that Uther would've been capable of many more great things, had he not been so blinded.

"Try and get a little rest," Arthur told Merlin. "If that thing comes back, we'll all need every ounce of our strength. We might not be as lucky the next time." Arthur seemed genuinely worried about the safety of the druids, and for a moment, Merlin wanted to tell Arthur. He wanted to tell him everything. He wanted to say that _he _was Emrys. That _he _was the last Dragonlord. However, fear had a different idea.

Merlin opened his mouth to speak but his words were stuck in his throat. They felt like a cold, hard stone, just sitting in his mouth; unable to roll off of his tongue and unable to be swallowed. They were simply stuck. All Merlin could do was nod, then he headed for his tent.

He didn't want to sleep. How could he when the young dragon had planned on killing Arthur? He was so angry, so confused. _"Morgana told me Arthur had killed you!" _Aithusa had said. So Aithusa was in league with Morgana. Merlin felt betrayed, yet he wondered if Aithusa simply had not known any better. His thoughts were interrupted when someone walked into his tent.

"Today was a close call," Escelia said, sitting next to Merlin. "We were lucky you were there. Arthur was lucky you were there." Merlin remained silent. He continued to stare at the ground. Why was she talking to him? Escelia sighed. "I saw you two leave the camp last night." That caught Merlin's attention.

"Did you follow us?" he asked cautiously. The druid shook her head.

"But I do know why you left," she said thoughtfully. "Em— Merlin, I think it might be time for you to tell Arthur."

"Don't you think I've thought of that?" Merlin replied sadly. "I _want_ to tell Arthur. I want to tell him now more than ever," Merlin managed to choke out. Escelia gazed at him thoughtfully.

"Then why will you not tell him?"

"Because…" he paused. Did he really want to admit that he was scared? All the druids knew him as Emrys, the most powerful sorcerer to ever live. What would they think if he told one of them that he was _scared_? He decided he didn't care. "…because, I'm scared."

Escelia put her hand on Merlin's arm in a calming manner. "Merlin, I can't possibly understand how scared you must be. You've been by Arthur's side for so long, practically deceiving. But, it was for a greater cause. You don't know if he'll care what the cause was or not, do you?"

Merlin fell silent. She was right, but then Kilgharrah's words rang through his mind once more.

"_Keep your friends close. You must not doubt the trust between them and yourself, no matter what." _Kilgharrah had said. Merlin thought he finally understood exactly what that meant. He knew, the dragon knew that Aithusa was going to stir up trouble. He knew that Merlin would consider telling Arthur the truth. And somehow, someway, the dragon knew what Merlin had not; that he _would _tell Arthur the truth. Merlin just didn't know how he was going to do that though.

"Merlin, you must tell Arthur. The time has come," she whispered then stood to leave.

"Thank you," Merlin said before she left.

"Whatever for," she asked curiously.

"For making me realize what I have to do," he answered strongly. He was going to tell Arthur the truth. It was time. But there was something else on his mind that he had to figure out before he said anything to Arthur.

Aithusa, the young dragon that Merlin had hatched himself, had attacked Arthur. He didn't know if he could ever forgive Aithusa for that. And when Merlin had heard him mention Morgana, it infuriated him. 'Maybe he didn't know any better. There has to be an explanation for why Aithusa would be with Morgana. I should've stayed with him. I should've looked after him,' Merlin thought to himself. He blamed himself now for everything that happened. He had to find Aithusa. But it seemed it didn't matter, because at that moment more screams came from outside. Aithusa was there.

Merlin stood and clenched his fists. Maybe this was how it was meant to be. Merlin decided he'd risk everything, right then and there. If Aithusa was attacking, he had to be stopped, whether it was of his own will, or Merlin's will. If he used his power as a Dragonlord, Aithusa could not disobey him. Maybe this was how it was meant to be.

"Aithusa," Merlin muttered through his teeth. A single tear slid down his cheek as he began to take slow, determined steps toward the door of his tent. He stopped just before exiting. "Arthur, I'm sorry," he mumbled, then stepped out into the light and chaos.

* * *

><p><strong>END NOTE-<strong>** So there you have it :) another chapter perfected. Again, I'm sorry for it being so short. I PROMISE the next chapter will be longer! REVIEW! Tell me what you thought! Tell me everything! What you liked, what you hated, what you laughed at, what you wanted to see, what you think will happen next! I might be grounded for a week though, so if I don't end up publishing the next chapter for a week, it'll be because I'm incredibly loyal to you all and was typing this when I should have been doing laundry. Sorry. But review, it'll make my day! The more reviews the faster the update! **

**~Allie-K**


	6. Chapter 6

**The big reveal is coming soon! It's coming VERY soon! Before I publish it, I want to hear _ your_ thoughts on what you think is going to happen. I hate to be cruel like this, but I will not publish the next chapter until I have received at _least _7 new reviews. What can I say, it's the least you could do for me. I provide some quality entertainment here and I want to know that people are enjoying it. :) Sooo I thought I'd better give you guys an incentive. Also, I published another story that you can read while waiting for me to update the next chapter. It's called: Drabbles With the Fans. I think you guys with like it quite a bit, so go ahead and check that out too if you want. Hope to hear from you soon!**

**~ Allie-K**


	7. Chapter 7

***DISCLAIMER- DON'T OWN MERLIN! WISH I DID THOUGH!***

**It's finally here; the big reveal! That's pretty much all there is to say. Enjoy!**

Merlin stepped outside and the dragon, Aithusa, was striking fear into everyone. The knights were trying to defend the druids as Arthur had commanded them to and Aithusa was doing the only thing he could think of, which was protecting himself. He let out a breath of fire and luckily no one was in the flame's path. Aithusa clawed and scratched aimlessly at anything that came too close to him.

Merlin knew that at that point, it wouldn't matter it Aithusa had seen him or not. He would continue to protect himself. Maybe this _was_ the way it was meant to be.

Merlin could feel his power bubbling inside him and he felt strong. He could stop Aithusa without hurting him. He knew he could. He began to slowly walk toward the young dragon. Time seemed to slow down, but in actuality, it didn't. Everything going on around Merlin was just going so fast. Arthur caught sight of Merlin walking toward the dragon.

"What are you doing, Merlin? Just get its attention, like you did last time. Stop this thing!" Arthur shouted.

"I am stopping him," Merlin growled with determination. He didn't take his eyes off of Aithusa as he walked straight past Arthur. The king took hold of Merlin's arm, stopping him from advancing toward Aithusa.

"Merlin, if you get near that thing you could be killed!" Arthur wasn't going to let Merlin die now. Not after all they'd been through. Merlin had stood strong with Arthur even against an immortal army! "Just get its attention, and he'll stop again, right?"

"Getting its attention would hardly do anything now. He's protecting himself and!" Merlin shouted, finally turning to look at Arthur. Arthur abruptly let go of Merlin's arm. He was almost… scared of Merlin. His demeanor had changed and he looked determined and _powerful_. Of all the features the young boy was showing, the most dominate was definitely that he looked powerful, very powerful.

"What are you going to do?" Arthur demanded. He was terrified that Merlin was going to be, well, Merlin. He was bound to do something stupid and reckless.

"My job!" Merlin said slightly laughing. "Don't worry about me, Arthur. I'll be fine," Merlin said turning from Arthur and heading back toward Aithusa.

"_Merlin_!" Arthur yelled after him. Merlin turned and looked at Arthur apologetically.

"Soon, Arthur, soon you will understand everything… I hope." Merlin spun and ran. This was it. There was no turning back, and Merlin prayed that Arthur would understand. Merlin would not doubt the trust between himself and Arthur, and hoped more than anything that he was making the right decision.

"Merlin, stop!" Arthur cried after him. But Merlin ignored him.

Merlin was drawing closer to Aithusa, and he had to start speaking before he got too close to the dragon or something could have gone wrong. Merlin began, his voice was deepened and it echoed with an eerie tone.

"Dragorn. Non didlakai. Kari miss, epsipass imalla krat. Katostar abore ceriss. Katicur. Me ta sentende divoless. Kar… krisass."

The dragon had begun to settle as Merlin spoke and as Merlin spoke his steps slowed to a walk. Each step was slow and dramatic. The dragon began to land and when Aithusa finally landed, he hung his head in shame briefly. Merlin was a very short distance from Aithusa, and when the Dragonlord's words finally ceased, the dragon bowed his head in submission to the Dragonlord's will. Merlin briefly bowed his head in return to show Aithusa that he did indeed respect him.

Everyone was still as they stared in amazement. The druids were awed by the immense power Merlin had shown he possessed. Arthur and his knights stood stunned by shock and disbelief.

"I'm so sorry," Aithusa muttered with his head ducked down to hide his shame.

"Your apologies mean nothing to me right now!" Merlin bellowed with anger. "What were you thinking?" Merlin's rage boiled over and it all rushed out at once, not in the form of magic, but in words. "How could you do this? You have hurt some of these people and you could've hurt even more of them had I not stopped you! You could've hurt me, and you could've hurt Arthur! The fact that you had actually meant to _kill_ Arthur earlier does not tell me that you are sorry! Innocent people are hurt because of _your _stupidity!"

Merlin spun away from the dragon. He felt ashamed to have yelled at Aithusa like that, but with all that had happened Merlin had finally snapped and had to let his anger out. Merlin began to pace back and forth with one hand on his him and the other running through his hair. He let out an exasperated breath.

"Help, this boy's hurt!" Escelia had suddenly called from the side of the whole scene. Merlin saw Arthur rush to the boy's side then he realized who the boy was. The little girl that Arthur had cheered up earlier that day had an older brother, and the injured boy was him. The little girl grabbed for her brother as one of the other druids pulled her away from him.

Merlin shot a furious glare at Aithusa. "I'll finish with you later," Merlin promised, and he ran to Arthur's side, kneeling next to him. The boy had a gaping cut down his arm from where Aithusa's talon had snagged at him. Someone handed Arthur a cloth and the king held it tight against the boy's wound.

"Do you have any medical supplies?" Arthur asked frantically. The druids shook their heads. "Well, can't you heal him with a spell or something? Is there nothing you can do?" Arthur demanded.

"The magic needed to heal such a wound is strong magic. I'm sorry Arthur Pendragon, but none of us possess magic that powerful," Iseldir replied regretfully. Without thinking, Merlin gently pushed aside Arthur's hand and placed his over the wound.

"Ic haele thina throwunga," Merlin whispered. His eyes flashed gold and instantly, the boy's arm was completely healed. "I'm not sure I can do anything about the pain, but the wound is healed. He should be fine."

Merlin stood and walked away from the crowd of people who'd gathered around him as close as they could to see the great Emrys work his magic. There'd been too many people for Merlin's liking, and he wanted to just get away from it all. He sauntered over to a tree on the far end of the druid camp and leaned on it for support. Truth be told, he was exhausted from everything and just wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to deal with Aithusa, who was still sitting in the spot Merlin had left him. He didn't want to deal with Arthur or the knights, who'd already begun to make their way over to the tree where Merlin stood.

"Merlin, would you care to explain to me, exactly what just happened?" Arthur asked cocking his head to the side slightly.

"Uh, not really, no," Merlin said causally folding his arms and standing upright. Arthur was beyond frustrated. Merlin was Emrys, a powerful sorcerer. But Merlin couldn't have been him, he acted too… well, Merlin-like to be anything but a fumbling idiot.

"You don't have a choice," Arthur replied just as casually.

"Right," Merlin sighed scratching the back of his head. "Well… Uh… Um…" Merlin stuttered. He wasn't sure exactly how he was going to explain it. He'd just hoped that Arthur would see him tame the dragon, and would figure out on his own that Merlin was Emrys.

"_Mer_lin," Gwaine began as he stepped in front of Arthur. "That was probably the _coolest_ thing I have ever seen in my life!" the knight exclaimed. Well, at least Gwaine seemed to be taking it pretty well.

"Yes," Leon joined in, a bit less excited than Gwaine. "I too, have never seen anything quite as intriguing as that. You stood up to that beast fearlessly and now it just sits ashamed of what it's done."

"Well, he's right to be ashamed!" Merlin snapped coldly in Aithusa's direction.

"You speak as if you know it," Leon observed. A lump formed in Merlin's throat and he tried hard to swallow it.

"Hang on! Back up a minute here!" Arthur said. "What _were _you doing that made it stop?" Arthur asked.

Merlin swallowed hard. "I was speaking to it," he replied with a shaky voice.

"How is that even—" Merlin interrupted him.

"Do you remember when we went to find Balinor?" Merlin asked timidly.

"Yes, and I remember you crying like a girl when he died," Arthur complained. Merlin slumped against the tree and slowly slid down to the ground. Tears pricked at his eyes from the painful memory of his father dying in his arms.

"He was my father," Merlin managed to choke out. His voice was quivering with pain. Tears began to run down his cheeks. "I'd only known him for one day, and then he died in my arms. He died protecting _me_!" Merlin sobbed. Leon and Gwaine were at a loss for words. Arthur crouched down beside Merlin and put a hand on his shoulder. Merlin flinched away from the hand and Arthur withdrew when he realized that.

Merlin looked _scared_ of Arthur. Merlin had just tamed a dragon for crying out loud and he was scared of _Arthur_!

"You're the last Dragonlord," Arthur concluded rising to stand on his feet. Merlin wiped the tears from his eyes and slowly nodded. "You're the sorcerer, Emrys," Arthur continued surprised that he was just now connecting the two. Merlin continued to nod.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Merlin sniffed.

"Sorry to interrupt, sire, but what are we to do about the dragon?" Leon asked.

Merlin sighed. "He has a name, you know." Merlin peered up at Leon who was gazing back at Merlin with confusion.

"Those beasts have names?" Gwaine chimed in, his expression one of surprise.

"Yes," Merlin shot back. He felt disgusted that they didn't even consider that dragons had names. They thought of those magnificent creatures as beasts. "That one," Merlin began, pointing toward the white dragon that looked at him with sorrow. "His name is Aithusa," Merlin finished.

"Wow, Aithusa. He has such a beautiful name for being such a destructive creature," Leon said, his eyes scanning the dragon.

"He wouldn't have been so destructive if you hadn't attacked him. He felt the need to defend himself, and because he didn't know what else to do, that's what he did," Merlin explained a bit coldly.

"So what do we do with him now?" Gwaine asked thoughtfully. Merlin stood. He wasn't through with Aithusa yet, he wasn't anywhere near close to being done with him. Merlin felt his anger begin to simmer again.

"Well," Merlin began. "I'm not through with him yet." Merlin glowered at the dragon and the dragon shrunk back in fear. "No, I'm not even close!" Merlin spat angrily. He stormed off toward the dragon and the knights and Arthur followed Merlin. Gwaine tried to grab Merlin's arm but somehow didn't move fast enough.

"Merlin, what are you going to do?" Gwaine asked almost scared. Merlin ignored his and kept going.

"You!" Merlin shouted jabbing a finger towards Aithusa. "Why were you with Morgana?" Merlin barked. A small tree nearby had burst into flames due to Merlin's furry.

"I'm sorry, Merlin! I really am! I can now sense that I was wrong about Morgana." Aithusa looked betrayed. "I thought she was there for me. She told me that she was my friend."

Merlin's anger dies down. He'd been right before. The young dragon hadn't known any better and Merlin felt awful that he'd yelled at Aithusa like he did. He looked at Aithusa apologetically. "She tricked you, didn't she?" Aithusa nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Merlin." Merlin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"No, I'm sorry. I should've known. I summoned you into this world myself, and I left you with Kilgharrah the moment after you hatched. I should've stayed with you, I should've at least had enough sense to tell you whose side we're on." Merlin then became puzzled. "But, why didn't Kilgharrah tell you all of that?"

"Kilgharrah left shortly after you left and I was all alone," Aithusa explained. That made Merlin furious! Merlin hadn't exactly told the Great Dragon to stay with Aithusa, but still, the dragon should've at least had the sense to tell Aithusa _something_.

"Oh, I'm going to have a little chat with Kilgharrah," Merlin growled menacingly.

"Can I tag along?" Aithusa asked innocently. Merlin sighed.

"Of course you come with me," Merlin chuckled.

"And what about us?" Arthur spoke. Merlin had forgotten Arthur was there with the knights. Actually, he'd forgotten that he'd just revealed himself to Arthur. The king knew that Merlin was a Dragonlord. He also knew that he was a sorcerer, and Merlin was still alive. The king hadn't even yelled at him really, but Merlin knew that he would.

"Eh, I suppose you could come along, if you wanted to," Merlin replied, being his usual self. "But why are you asking me for permission? You're the king, remember?"

"And you're actually a terrifyingly, powerful looking sorcerer," Gwaine laughed.

"Right…" Arthur said giving Gwaine a strange look. Gwaine replied with a look that said 'What did I do?'. "You do realize, Merlin that you have a _lot _of explaining to do!" Arthur barked at Merlin.

"Yes, yes I know, and I'm sorry in advance," Merlin apologized.

"Sure you are," Arthur said doubtfully.

"I really am, Arthur!" Merlin insisted. Arthur quickly drew his sword from its sheath and impatience practically radiated off of him. He held the tip of his sword to Merlin's chest.

"You just talk to your _stupid_ dragon! The minute you're finished with that, you're _mine_ to deal with!" Arthur said glowering at the sorcerer. Glowering at Emrys.

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><p><strong>END NOTE- What did you think? Did it meet you expectations? Was it worth the wait? Remember to REVIEW! I mean... please review. :) I really mean it this time! If you guys... andor girls don't review, then I won't post as often anymore. I might wait 2 weeks before updating the next chapter, and I _know_ you don't want that. I promise that doing that to you guys/girls doesn't give me any pleasure. It'll be torture if you don't review so please do review.**

**~ Allie-K**


	8. Chapter 8

***DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN MERLIN! BBC DOES!***

**It's finally here! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter uploaded. I had a hard time typing it because my Microsoft Word kept saying that I couldn't edit the document because it was "locked"! Annoying right? well its here now so i hope you all enjoy it!**

Merlin was scared. More scared than he'd ever really been in his entire life. He'd hoped that Arthur had just accepted him as being Emrys, but deep down he'd always known that it was never going to be that easy. And of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. Kilgharrah could wait. Merlin saw that the whole situation was an issue, for both of them and if he let it sit for even a minute, it would simmer then heat to a boil and eventually it would bubble over; unable to be tamed. It would be hopeless and everything he'd worked for would be pointless. He had to figure out how to approach the matter though. It seemed to be a very delicate one, so Merlin simply wandered off to the clearing in which many events had seemed to be centered around.

Arthur trailed far behind Merlin and his eyes clawed into the back of the warlock's head. Gwaine and Leon, who seemed have less hatred toward Merlin, followed behind Merlin at a closer distance.

"Merlin," Leon whispered, but the boy was deep in thought and only vaguely heard the knight. "Merlin, listen to me," he whispered, his tone somewhat harsh. Merlin snapped out of his daze and sharply turned his head to face Leon.

"What?"

"Merlin, why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell Arthur?" Leon asked sadly.

"Stop and just think about what you just said for a moment. Tell Arthur, the king of Camelot, that I have magic... while staying in Camelot. How do you think that would've played out?" Merlin asked irritated. Leon lowered his head. Of course Merlin couldn't just _tell _Arthur. He figured Merlin must've been so scared all the time, always having to hide who he really was, worrying that one day the king would barge in declaring "Sorcerer! You're under arrest and will be executed immediately!"

Gwaine rushed to Merlin's side. "Hey mate, you wouldn't just so happen to be able to turn water into ale would you? Come on, I'm dying here," he said. Merlin laughed slightly. At least Gwaine wasn't going to try and kill him. Leon had fallen silent, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Why did you stay in Camelot, Merlin? You knew that you'd be killed if you were caught, so why did you stay?" Leon finally asked. Gwaine leaned in closer to hear the young warlock's explanation. He seemed to be just as curious about the subject as Leon.

"I had to stay. It was my duty," Merlin replied. He'd answered honestly, though he was pretty sure that Leon and Gwaine wouldn't truly understand what he'd meant.

They finally reached the clearing and Merlin simply stood in the middle of it.

"Well," Arthur began. "Call that dragon or whatever!" he shouted.

"No, not yet," Merlin sighed. He shut his eyes tightly and swallowed hard before continuing. "I have to make this all right again," his voice shook. The tables turned with unbelievable speed and Merlin found himself staring back with terror in his heart as Arthur glared coldly at him. The two knights had fled to the edge of the clearing. Arthur drew his sword and stood poised to fight.

"W- What are you doing?" Merlin asked eyeing the sword in Arthur's hand suspiciously. He began to slowly step away from the now furious king. Arthur swung his sword and Merlin jumped back just far enough that the blade grazed the cloth of his tunic.

"You _lied _to me, you deceived me, you betrayed me!" Arthur swung his sword again and Merlin luckily dodged it again.

"I didn't want to lie to you! Please believe me!" Merlin pleaded, dodging Arthur's blade again.

"Why should I believe you?" Arthur shouted. He wished Merlin would just stop! He'd always known Merlin as a clumsy fool, but then again, he didn't really know Merlin at all, did he? After all those years, he'd become friends with a big lie. Merlin was a sorcerer and yet he wasn't even defending himself as Arthur furiously swung his sword at him.

Merlin jumped back again, but being the klutz that he was, he lost his footing and fell to the ground landing on his backside. Merlin flinched as Arthur's sword came at him again. The blade stopped.

"Stop! Just stop!" Arthur chocked out through clenched teeth.

"Stop what?" Merlin's voice quivered with fear and confusion.

"Stop acting so pathetic! Fight back! Don't pretend to be so useless!" Arthur demanded. Merlin couldn't grasp the words that Arthur had spoken. He wanted Merlin to fight back.

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked desperately. Arthur stepped away from his servant panting and sweating profusely.

"You're supposed to be this _powerful sorcerer_, so prove it!" Arthur exclaimed.

"You… you want me to use magic against you?" Merlin stared at Arthur, dumbfounded. "I won't, I refuse to do that!" Merlin shook his head vigorously as he rose to his feet. "I use my magic for good," Merlin stated.

"Damn it, Merlin, defend yourself!" Arthur seemed to beg. He threw his sword at Merlin and instantly regretted it, praying that Merlin would listen to him and defend himself. Merlin knew that he wasn't fast enough to dodge the incoming blade, so he acted on instinct. His eyes flashed gold and the blade froze in mid-air, only mere inches from his face. Merlin let the weapon fall to the ground and let out an exasperated breath. His life was always so confusing. Arthur was attacking him, yet he wanted Merlin to fight back and to defend himself. Merlin just didn't understand any of it. Why would someone try and kill a person just to beg them to defend themselves?

The raven-haired boy stepped away from the sword on the ground and Arthur ran forward to retrieve it, continuing his rampant swinging at Merlin.

"Arthur, for crying out loud what are you doing?" Gwaine called out from the edge of the clearing. Arthur ignored the knight and kept swinging at Merlin, landing a few hits to his arms and shoulders.

"Just fight back!" Arthur furiously barked at Merlin and swung the blade at his face. Finally the warlock somewhat listened to the orders to fight back. His eyes burned a glistening gold as he moved his right hand to grab the blade, but he didn't grab it. He forced the blade from its path, letting it float away from him through the air as an invisible force made Arthur drop to his knees and held him in its grasp. Merlin snatched the sword from the positing he'd left it in then released the hold on Arthur. Arthur quickly stood and began to charge at Merlin but reeled back when Merlin somehow summoned a small wall of orange flames to block his path.

Merlin let the flames die and his eyes regained their original blue color. He saw Arthur on his knees, breathing extremely heavily and fighting to keep himself awake. He was wearing himself out trying to… well Merlin wasn't sure what Arthur was trying to do. But whatever it was, Arthur needed to stop. It wasn't a fight he was going to win, and Merlin wasn't going to fight any longer. Unlike Arthur, Merlin hadn't gotten anywhere in the "fight". Arthur had landed light blows to his manservant's arms while Merlin simply allowed Arthur to wear himself out, never left a scratch on him.

Arthur continued to try and catch his breath and fell forward, catching himself with his hands. Merlin cautiously approached his master.

"Sire… you… you have to rest," Merlin said softly. He scanned over Arthur's worn and exhausted figure and frowned apologetically at the king. Arthur fell over onto his side then rolled over to lie on his back. Arthur looked way too exhausted. This wasn't just from his persistent attacks on Merlin. This was more like he had used up every last big of his energy fighting against something. 'Oh no,' Merlin thought. 'He must've tried to resist my magic when I forced him to his knees,' he worried. He'd felt some kind of resistance, but it hadn't seemed that strong. 'Of course it wouldn't have felt strong to me,' Merlin mentally slapped himself. If Arthur had resisted, of course he would've tried with all of his strength, but since his strength was no match for Merlin's magic, it simply drained Arthur's energy, leaving him with little strength. Merlin had to admit, he was impressed that Arthur had managed to remain standing for as long as he did afterward.

The knight ran to the side of their king. "What happened?" Leon asked with concern shown plainly on his features.

"He's exhausted," Merlin replied. "He wore himself out. All he needs is rest and he'll be fine."

"Is he unconscious?" Gwaine asked peering down at Arthur.

"N- No," Arthur stuttered. He began to pull himself off the ground and teetered from side to side when he got to his feet. His knees gave out and Merlin lunged forward to catch him, discarding the sword in his hand. Arthur grabbed the arms that extended out to help him and he clutched Merlin's sleeves tightly as he tried to pull himself back to his feet. Though Arthur was still awake, he didn't really seem coherent.

"We need to get him back to the camp," Leon said.

"No," Merlin retorted. "He's not strong enough right now to be able to travel even that distance. Help me get him to the edge of the clearing. We can lean him up against a tree and he can rest there for now," Merlin suggested. The knights nodded and Leon pried one of Arthur's hands from Merlin's tunic to wrap the stumbling king's arm around his shoulder.

"M- Merlin, why are y- you helping me?" Arthur breathed. "I just… tried to k- kill you…"

"Yes, yes you did and I didn't really appreciate that. It wasn't very nice of you," Merlin teased.

"I- I know it wasn't. I just… I was…" Arthur wanted to explain his sudden outburst of anger, but he was fading fast and darkness threatened to wash over him. It became harder and harder to fight back the black wave with every word he spoke.

"Not now, Arthur, you can explain later," Merlin said, silencing his mumbling friend. "You need to rest, sire." They'd reached the lining of trees and propped Arthur up against it.

"Mer-lin," Arthur breathed. "I'm so sorry," he said as he slipped into unconsciousness. Merlin frowned again. He couldn't help feeling that it was his fault that his friend was now lying unconscious against a tree.

"Merlin, do you have any idea what that was about out there?" Leon asked.

"Well, I don't really know," Merlin frowned. His hand flew up to his left shoulder and covered his bleeding cut. He winced at the stinging pain that shot through his arm. Gwaine looked at him worriedly. "I'll be fine," said reassuringly. "Arthur usually uses me as his own personal punching bag, so I'm pretty much used to it." Merlin faked a smile.

Leon and Gwaine slightly laughed at Merlin's comment. They were amazed at how cheerful Merlin was and at how loyal he was to Arthur even after Arthur had tried to kill him. Merlin definitely was a riddle.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, mate?" Gwaine asked smiling slightly. Merlin nodded. "You're not going to bleed out on us are you?" he pressed on. "Because you look like you're bleeding in a lot of places," he said gesturing to Merlin. Merlin scanned over his arms and shoulders. He had multiple cuts running across his shoulders and cuts that stretched down his arms. They weren't deep cuts, but they bled enough to stain his sleeves and made them stick to his skin.

He glanced down at the small tear in the fabric of his tunic and noticed that it had been slightly stained with red too. He felt a drop of blood drip off of his fingertip. No wonder the knights were so worried about him. He was a bloody mess.

"Merlin, you should get some rest too," Leon said. Gwaine nodded in agreement.

"No, I can't," Merlin protested. "I still have to give Kilgharrah a piece of my mind," Merlin frowned. Gwaine opened his mouth and inhaled to reply but stopped and cocked his head, furrowing his eyebrows. "The Great Dragon," the Dragonlord explained.

Merlin turned to take a step away from the knights but stumbled and leaned against a tree instead as the world around him began to spin slightly. He shut his eyes tightly.

"Maybe I will sit and rest. Just for a little while," Merlin sighed as he slid down the tree to sit on the ground.

"Mate, you alright there?" Gwaine asked kneeling next to Merlin. Merlin tried to nod but the dizziness got worse and his nod slid into a shake of his head. He felt very lightheaded and that wasn't a good sign. 'Why do I have to be so physically weak?' Merlin wondered. His vision began to blur and he fell unconscious.

Gwaine began to shake Merlin's shoulder lightly. "Merlin, you okay? You have to hang in there, I'm going to get help." Merlin heard the voice echo through the recesses of his mind. It sounded like Gwaine. He had to hang on and try and stay conscious, but the darkness crashed over him unyieldingly and he felt as if his very existence was slipping away from him.

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><p><strong>END NOTE- What did you think? I worked so hard to get this chapter finished its not even funny! But anyways I want to share something AMAZING with you all! I might be starting <span>another<span> story here soon. That is a big MAYBE though. I want to write a Merlin fanfic about how Merlin deals with Freya's death. I'm thinking of maybe even bringing her back to life *squeals with excitement* so tell me what you think I should do. So, you know how it goes... Review and I'll try as hard as I possibly can to update frequently. REVIEW! PLEASE!**

**~ Allie-K**

**... REVIEW! *gives puppy dog eyes* PLEASE?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it took me so long to update. I was having a hard time figuring out how I wanted to write this chapter, especially in the beginning and I've been really busy lately. I actually had Solo and Ensemble Contest this weekend and that was big. In case you're wondering, I had a flute solo and I actually got a rating of 1 (The highest rating) on it so i was really happy about that. You probably don't care about that though, you're here for the story. So, here it is. I really hope you like it. And thank you so much for all the reviews. (not that i got that many for the last chapter) but I can count on you guys this time, right? anyways, ENJOY!**

Merlin sank deep into the darkness that had enveloped him. He was utterly disoriented and and couldn't seem to recall where he was or what had happened. The minutes turned to hours and they dragged on and on, longer and longer.

He was alive. That Merlin knew for sure because, after all, he'd concluded that the only thing that made sense was that nothing made sense. He was alive, but he felt so small, like his very existence had been shrunk down. He couldn't find his hands or arms and couldn't find any evidence that he still had legs or feet. He was completely numb.

Arthur began to wake. He felt extremely drained although he'd slept for at least a couple of hours. He attempted to sit up, but the spinning world around him suggested he do differently.

"Don't try and move too much," a voice said. Arthur focused his blurred vision on the figure hovering over him and blinked the foggy cloud out of his eyes. It was Iseldir that stood over him pressing his hand down on the young king's shoulder to keep him from getting up.

"What happened?" Arthur asked. Feeling the dizziness going away, he very slowly began to sit up. He saw the two knights glancing over in his direction only occasionally, and each time they would let the worried gazes fall back onto another person who, at the moment, Arthur couldn't see.

"You collapsed from exhaustion," Iseldir's voice sounded again. He chuckled softly. "I assume you tried to resist the magic of the young warlock," he continued as he cocked his eyebrow at Arthur. "Resisting magic that strong is bound to take an enormous about of energy out of you. Your friends came and got me, asking for my help. They were worried about you and your friend."

Resisting magic? Arthur didn't remember much of what had happened, which is why he was so confused. 'Friends.' The word rang through his mind. Magic. Friends. Suddenly it hit him like a cold hard stone.

"Merlin!" Arthur gasped remembering everything that had happened. He remembered the harsh words he'd yelled and all the furious attacks he'd made against him. But what had happened to Merlin? Where was he?

Arthur sat forward more and tried to look at the person that the knights were so concerned about. There he saw Merlin's unconscious figure slumped against a tree. Arthur scrambled to Merlin's side, nearly crawling on his hands and knees as he made his way to his unconscious manservant.

"What's wrong with him?" Arthur cried as he vigorously shook Merlin's shoulder, but he had no idea that shaking him could make his condition worse until he pulled his hand away from Merlin's shoulder. He stared at his palm in horror. Merlin was bleeding and he looked ghostly pale. "Did… did _I _do this to him?" Arthur choked, scanning his eyes over the many cuts that covered Merlin's shoulders, arms, and even his stomach. "We have to do something," Arthur breathed as he tried to lift Merlin from where he was lying.

"You really should leave him be," the old druid said. Arthur seemed to growl at the druid.

"What—"

"Hush," Iseldir began. He gestured to Merlin. "You must leave him to rest." Arthur clenched his teeth and fists with anger.

"You're telling me I should just leave him to die then?"

"Do not act so dull-minded, Arthur Pendragon. I simply mean that he must rest so that his injuries may heal."

"But it could take weeks for him to recover. We need to act now!"

Iseldir shook his head and frowned. "He is a lot stronger than you give him credit for," he said quietly. Arthur frowned in reply. Perhaps Iseldir was right. There was so much about Merlin that Arthur didn't really know about, so why wouldn't his strength be something Arthur had been wrong about too?

"Is he going to be alright?" Leon's voice finally sounded. Both Leon and Gwaine had been so quiet since Arthur had woken.

"He should be. Actually, you should consider yourself lucky that he has magic, Pendragon. The only thing keeping him alive is his magic," Iseldir replied. Arthur was completely speechless. There were so many thoughts running through the young king's mind and almost all of them were centered around one person: Merlin.

"Sorry for interrupting your 'deep' train of thought, but would you mind explaining just what the hell that was out there!" Gwaine shouted. Arthur glared at the man, but his expression fell soft.

"I… I don't know. I just- I was…" Arthur trailed off as he glanced down at Merlin's unconscious body. He sat up against the tree that Merlin was resting up against and continued as best as he could. "I felt hurt by everything that happened, and at the moment, well, I guess I wanted Merlin to feel 'hurt' too. I just felt so angry." Arthur sighed as he looked back at Merlin again. "I wanted him to _feel_ hurt, not to _get _hurt," Arthur frowned. The knights seemed to be interested in his guilt. It seemed that the king would pour his heart and feeling out right in front of them and that saw something they'd never really seen before.

"See, you really do care about him," Gwaine said softly leaning on a nearby tree. Arthur took a deep breath.

"Yes, I care, but slicing him up with a sword sure didn't tell him I cared." It was silent for a moment before Arthur continued. "I think the reason that Merlin didn't tell me about his magic was that he didn't trust me enough. After this, any trust he had in me is probably gone. He'll never trust me again," Arthur said quietly, his voice sad and shaky.

"Oh, you don't know that for sure," Leon said.

"Leon's right," Gwaine agreed. "You know Merlin is the forgiving type, anyway."

Arthur was silent for a long while thinking about what Gwaine and Leon had said. He hoped that they were right, because if he lost Merlin's trust, he'd be losing one of the closest friends he'd ever had.

"I hope you're right," Arthur sighed lifting his face to the sky. He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He looked back down at his best friend and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I don't know if you can even hear me, but Merlin, I'm sorry."

Merlin was trying to fight his way through the darkness but wasn't sure if he even wanted to find his way out. Waking up would mean feeling pain and having to face Arthur. He'd tried to kill him and even though Merlin trusted Arthur with his life, he couldn't help being scared of the blonde-haired man. 'I have to try to understand though,' Merlin thought. He could vaguely hear a voice through the black veil.

"I don't know if you can even hear me, but Merlin, I'm sorry."

Merlin knew that voice. It was Arthur, and he was sorry, and Merlin believed it. He had to, because it was the only thing that gave him the strength to push his way through the darkness. He'd always trust Arthur, no matter what, just like Kilgharrah had said.

Merlin could feel his consciousness returning to him. He could feel the cold air on his skin and could hear the wind rustling the leaves on the forest floor. He let out a groan as he began to feel the pain. It throbbed in his arms and shoulders and he even felt sick. The pain in his gut was enough to make him feel like throwing up and he tightened his fists, trying to keep himself together.

He heard someone next to him jump to their feet.

"Merlin! Hey, he's awake!" Arthur shouted. Merlin forced himself to sit up and winced from the pain.

"HA! It seems that an apology can do wonders!" Gwaine laughed. Yes, Arthur's apology meant the world to Merlin. It meant that perhaps, Arthur hadn't meant what he'd said to him. He still trusted Merlin and Merlin trusted Arthur. He had to, just like the dragon had said. Then it dawned on him.

Kilgharrah had done all of this on purpose. He'd avoided Aithusa and told Merlin and Arthur to keep their trust in each other. He knew that this would happen!

"That _stupid_ dragon!" Merlin shouted through clenched teeth, partly from the anger and partly from the pain.

"What?" Arthur breathed. He scanned over the warlock wondering what he could possibly be thinking.

"Kilgharrah, he knew this was going to happen." Merlin knew what he had to do then. It had always been what he had to do; only now he knew what it was that he had to do.

Arthur stared at Merlin in disbelief. It all made sense, but why was Merlin now trying to stand up?

"What are you doing you _idiot_?" Arthur shouted at Merlin. Merlin rose to his feet, pushing all thoughts and feelings of pain out of the way. With clenched fists he took a step toward the think of the woods. He had a plan. However, he stumbled and fell forward. He was still weak from the loss of so much blood. Arthur, almost instinctively, extended his arm out to catch Merlin. His arm wrapped around Merlin's upper torso causing significantly less pain for Merlin. Merlin simply brush Arthur off and continued on in the direction he'd begun in. Arthur watched in amazement as his severely injured manservant walked away looking as if he merely had a simple limp and some fatigue. There seemed to be no signs that he registered the pain in his arms or his stomach.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gwaine questioned putting his arm out in from of the raven-haired man to stop him.

"I have a plan that might just work, but I have to do something else before I can do anything else." Merlin winced at the pain that was now making itself known in his shoulder.

"You can't go by yourself," Leon exclaimed. "You're injured!"

"I'm not going alone," Merlin said turning to Arthur. "You're coming with me," he said nodding at Arthur. Arthur's eyes widened with surprise.

"Me?" Arthur questioned. Merlin nodded and winced again, gripping his shoulder tightly.

"Yes, we're going to get you a sword."

"But I already have a sword," Arthur said.

"Yes, well we're getting you a better one," Merlin smiled and continued walking deeper into the forest with Arthur fallowing close behind him.

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><p><strong>END NOTE- yea i know this chapter is kind of short. i was up at 1 in the morning finishing this for you guys, so a "thank you" would be appreciated. I hope you liked my fail of a chapter, because on my part it is a fail. i wanted something greatly significant to happen in this chapter and just couldn't seem to put it in here yet :( disappointment! oh well, remember to REVIEW please. I love reading what you guysgirls have to say about my story. it inspires me to write more for you and in turn that makes me all happy! so let's sum it all up.**

**fans + reviews = happy author!**

**i look forward to hear from you!**

**Oh i have a twitter now so if you want to follow me you'll probably be able to get some sneak peaks at future chapters and stories. just search me up by my pen name... that should work. :) if it doesn't i've went into greater detail on the end not of chapter 15 of Drabbles With The Fans (My other merlin fanfic)! You may now stalk me! ^_^**

**~ Allie-K**


	10. Chapter 10

**I know you guys/girls don't like it when I post chapters that are just authors' notes but I think this is rather important. I'll probably just end up deleting this "chapter" per-say afterward anyways, replacing it with the actual chapter. **

**Anywhooo... I'm sorry it's been taking me so long to update my story. I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear it, it's just that I'm kinda blocked at the moment and I'm having a hard time figuring out how I want to word the next chapter and all that. I really hope I haven't lost any of you fans out there because I'd be mortified if I did. **

**I'm hoping that the next chapter will be SUPER long... just for you to enjoy! I'm planning to have some really exciting stuff happen too! There should be lots of action going on. Also, I'm hoping to kinda wrap up this fanfic and bring it to an end for now. Oh please don't cry! There will be a sequel! I promise you that. **

**There will be more Merlin to come! I'll write a new Merlin fanfic after I finish up this one. It'll probably be short but I'm not sure how all that's gonna work out just yet, so bear with me.**

**Again, I'm _SO_ sorry that this isn't the actual chapter, so _please _don't blow my house up with your atomic bombs and other various nuclear weapons! If you do, at least give me time to hide in my bomb shelter, hug a brick wall, or cover my head with a newspaper! (LOL video from history class! Duck and Cover!) If you have any questions, complaints, opinions, ideas, or any other form of words that you would like to direct at my face, you can review this pathetic chapter or message me.**

**Random person: "They HATE you now!"**

**Me: "Shut up! No they don't!"**

**Random person: "Yes they do! You've posted another no-fanfic chapter. They'll never read your fanfictions again!"**

**Me: "Yes they will, now leave me alone... and stop following me!"**

**Random person: "I'm not following you... MWAHAHAHA- *Cough Cough*"**

**Me: "Yes you are! First you bullied me on my Drabbles With The Fans fanfic, and now you've followed me to this one!"**

**Random person: "Oh... ha, I guess I am following you... Oh, well!"**

**If you've read my Drabbles With The Fans, you'll know how mean she^ is... She's the undermining part of my conscious that I have yet to find a name for... Hmm I guess she'll just stay nameless. BYE!**

**~Allie-K**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN/ sorry it took me so long to post this chapter! i've decided that the author note chapter i posted before this will stay there. it has info about the next fanfic i plan to write. **

**Random person: "Is it a Merlin fanfic?" **

**Me: "DUH! Why wouldn't it be?"**

**Random person: "..."**

**Me: "Finally! Silence!"**

**I'm tired of calling her^ Random person. help me come up with a name for her? LOL I'm CRAZY XD**

**Sorry this chapter is so short. there's no action in here like i promised but there will be in the next chapter. that i am swearing to you! *places hand over heart* Enjoy!**

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><p>Excalibur is what Arthur would need, and Merlin led Arthur through the woods to find the rock in which he'd embedded the blade in. Amazingly, the knights hadn't followed Arthur and Merlin, although they both were sure that they would have. Arthur was silent as he followed Merlin, but the silence was too deafening, so he spoke.<p>

"Merlin," Arthur began softly. "Are you okay?" Merlin slowed his steps and a small smile crept onto his lips.

"I'll be fine," he said reassuringly. "Oh, and Arthur," he began, looking over his shoulder at the king. "Apology accepted," he continued. A wide smile stretched across his face. Arthur smiled kindly back at Merlin, but worry was still shown plainly on his features.

"Merlin, how exactly do you plan to get me a better sword? We're in the middle of the woods!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Just trust me on this! Please, Arthur," Merlin pleaded. Reluctantly, Arthur nodded and continued on.

It had been silent as the two trudged through the trees and Arthur couldn't take it anymore.

"So, about this new sword you're getting me; what makes it so special that I need _that _one in particular?" Arthur asked.

"Well, it's sort of… a _magical _… sword," Merlin said cautiously. Arthur snorted.

"You did **not **make a sword—"

"You're right, I didn't. Well, not exactly."

Arthur furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Would you care to explain?" Arthur said in his 'I-am-the-king-of-Camelot-and-you-will-tell-me' voice. The king cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest, still following behind Merlin.

Merlin froze briefly as he thought.

"No," he said shaking his head, "Not really."

"_Merlin,_" Arthur said disapprovingly.

"Right, ah," Merlin began and Arthur looked at him expectantly. "I, uh, didn't make the actual blade, or course, but the sword is…" Merlin trailed off, unsure of what word to use next. "Well, I guess you could say that it's enchanted, but I'm not sure if that's really the right word to use," Merlin said, cocking his head to the side slightly, in thought.

"And what did _you_ do?"

"Well, not much actually. Gwen gave me the blade, and Kilgharrah is the one who gave it its magic…" Merlin trailed off again. They both began to walk again until they finally found Excalibur majestically protruding from the large stone Merlin had embedded it in.

"These designs are absolutely amazing!" Arthur exclaimed as he examined the hilt of the sword.

"Arthur," Merlin warned, "This sword has the power to kill the immortal as well as the dead and living. In the wrong hands, this sword is capable of unimaginable evil," Merlin began to explain.

Arthur was taken aback by Merlin's warning. If the sword was as dangerous as Merlin had claimed it to be, perhaps it should remain in that stone.

"Merlin, we should leave the sword alone. I mean, someone plunged it into a _stone_! So, obviously, whoever put it there had no intention of it ever being released." 'Or they just have major anger issues' Arthur thought to himself.

"You're wrong," Merlin shot back quickly.

"And how would you know, _Merlin_?" Arthur snorted.

"Because I'm the one who put it there," Merlin said unmoving.

Arthur's jaw dropped. Lately, everything that his idiot manservant said was something hat always left Arthur's mind pleading for explanations. Eventually, Arthur would make Merlin explain everything, but what could he do if Merlin refused to tell him, put his head on the chopping block? 'No!' Arthur thought. No matter how much Arthur denied it, Merlin was his best friend. He even thought of Merlin as a brother sometimes.

Merlin saw the confused expression on Arthur's face and he laughed inwardly at the way the expression itself didn't seem to know which emotion to display.

"Arthur, let me explain," Merlin said.

'Finally he's giving me some kind of explanation!' Arthur thought and he nodded for Merlin to continue.

"When the black knight came to get revenge… I'm sure you remember when Gaius had explained that it was a wraith, which meant that he was dead." Arthur nodded as he followed along with the story. Merlin continued.

"A weapon was needed that could kill the dead; that was the only way to destroy the knight once and for all."

"And that's where this comes in?" Arthur asked motioning to the sword. Merlin simply nodded and smiled softly. Arthur seemed to be taking all of it very well at the moment, so the young warlock continued.

"You see, since you had accepted the knight's challenge, I had to do something, or you would've died. No normal sword could kill something that's already dead."

"So this sword was created on my behalf?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, but since _you_ hadn't used it…" Merlin frowned.

"What?" Arthur questioned. He urged his servant to continue, but Merlin was hesitant.

Merlin was trying to put his words together carefully. One wrong word could light up Arthur Pendragon's fiery temper, and then he'd really be in trouble.

"Well… before Kilgharrah would let me leave with the sword, he told me the only person who was to use the sword was you, Arthur."

"And…?"

"Well, the sword is so powerful that in the hands of the wrong person, it is unbelievably dangerous. You didn't use the sword, Uther did, so it wasn't in your hand; you couldn't keep it safe with you, so I had to hide it until it was needed again," Merlin explained.

"And that's how it got here?" Arthur asked, motioning to Excalibur again.

"No, it ended up at the bottom of a lake," Merlin stated in a rushed breath.

Arthur flashed Merlin a confused look before regaining his composure.

"Then Morgana showed up with that immortal army—" Arthur abruptly cut Merlin off.

"You used the sword against them, didn't you?" Merlin nodded again. "But I thought only I could use the sword, and furthermore, I thought it was at the bottom of a lake!"

Merlin flinched slightly. 'Oh, no' Merlin thought. 'There's that temper of his. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Morgana.'

"It was at the bottom of the lake, but Freya gave it back to me… to repay me, just like she promised." Merlin had hesitated on mentioning Freya's promise, but even mentioning Freya at all made his heart clench. He wondered why he'd mentioned Freya at all. Tears pricked at his eyes at the memory of his lost lover.

"Freya?" Arthur asked at the mention of the unfamiliar name. Merlin took a deep and uneven breath.

"That's a story for another time," Merlin said. Arthur sighed.

"Okay, so this Freya; she gave the sword back to you?" Merlin let out another shaky breath and nodded. He felt like his heart was breaking each and every time the name Freya hit his ears.

Merlin tried to push the thought of Freya from his mind.

"After using Excalibur to defeat the immortal army, I brought it here so that none could wield it… until now," Merlin said dramatically, staring intensely at Arthur.

Arthur simply blinked, unable to do anything else at the moment. Finally he spoke.

"How on _earth_ did you manage to put that sword into a _stone_!" Arthur shouted bewildered.

"Duh, magic. How else?" Merlin laughed. Arthur rolled his eyes in that 'of course' kind of way. Suddenly, Merlin because very serious. It almost scared Arthur at how powerful his servant looked.

"Arthur, I'm going to release the spell on the sword, but you have to pull Excalibur out from the stone as it's released, or it will get stuck in the stone permanently," Merlin explained.

"I'm guessing Excalibur is the sword," Arthur stated. Merlin laughed and nodded.

"The spell will release slowly, so take your time. Oh, and Arthur, it won't work if you don't believe in yourself. Excalibur belongs to you, and it will only be truly released from the stone if _you _areretrieving it from the stone, so you have to believe in yourself."

Arthur nodded and firmly wrapped his hand around the hilt of the sword. He took slow and deliberate breaths and Merlin informed him that he'd begun to release the spell. Arthur tugged on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. He pulled harder and the same thing happened. He let out a frustrated and desperate breath.

"It's not working, Merlin," Arthur breathed shakily, his voice sounding hopeless and desperate.

"Arthur, you have to believe in yourself!" Merlin encouraged. "Excalibur belongs to _you_! You must demand it to move."

Arthur straightened his back and stood in front of Excalibur proudly. The determination he had was almost tangible and he took a slow even breath before placing one hand firmly around the sword's hilt again. Slowly and carefully, he pulled at the blade.

He kept his eyes shut, trying to stay calm and confident. The blade began to move and Arthur's heart leapt with joy, but he kept his composure, afraid that if he didn't the sword would stop moving.

Finally, Arthur unsheathed the sword from the stone and held it proudly above his head in triumph. Merlin smiled widely at the king and Arthur's face wore the same proud smile.

"You did it, Arthur! You did it!" Merlin shouted in praise.

"You didn't think I could do it?" Arthur asked skeptically, but the sound of relief in his voice was overwhelming.

"No. I knew you could. I've always known that when this moment came, you would be able to do it," Merlin smiled sweetly. Arthur's smile grew at how faithful his friend was.

"Thank you," Arthur managed to say. Merlin laughed playfully. Sure he was amazed that the king of Camelot was actually saying thank you, but he'd always known in his heart that the prat wasn't always as arrogant as he acted.

"So what exactly is this plan of yours? Why do we need Excalibur?" Arthur asked curiously. he examined the rest of the blade. it looked untouched and brand new; absolutely beautiful. Merlin smiled mischievously.

"We're going to take down Morgana once and for all, and that sword is going to help us do that."

Merlin looked almost threatening, but not towards Arthur. His dark aura was directed at the witch, Morgana and the king plastered the same evil grin onto his face as they both took off to join the knights and Iseldir. This was it; the end of Morgana Pendragon was at hand.

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><p><strong>END NOTE- Yep I know, short chapter. But hey, next chapter I get to write about Merlin being a total BAMF! So much action will be going on that you'll probably need to re-read the chapter just to understand everything that's going on! All of our favorite friends will be there! (Including a certain Lady of the Lake) *squeals in excitement* Also I have info about the next fanfic I plan to write. I have the title and the plot and everything! I'm so proud of myself! You can find out so much more about my stories if you follow me on twitter LOL actually I had someone ask if they could just comment and review my stories through twitter. It sure is easier haha!<strong>

**^^^ WOW I talk a LOT! But that's okay right?**

**I have depressing news... There will probably only be about 2 more chapters of this fanfiction. Yep that's right: I'm ending it. But don't cry! You've known that I was going to and you also know that there WILL be a sequel! So yay for that! well BYEZZZ!**

**~Allie-K**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN/ I'm sorry this chapter is kinda short. I wanted to be able to have more chapters for you guys to enjoy. I can guarantee that the 'finale' for this fanfic will be extremely long though, because I plan on making it a two-parter, so to speak. well enjoy!**

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><p>When Merlin and Arthur made their way back to the others, they found that there were more people there now than there was before. There were more knights who were willing to lay down their lives for Arthur, whatever the cause, but it wasn't only the knights that had gathered, determined to fight for their king. The citizens of Camelot that had fled, the old and the young, all were willing to do whatever Arthur asked.<p>

"When did all of these people get here?" Arthur asked pulling Leon aside.

"Not too long ago, Sire. They had heard of your whereabouts from a druid and came to 'kill the druids' but most have just come to offer their help.

Merlin had been talking to Iseldir and exchanged a few quiet words and seemed to end the conversation. Merlin spoke again, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Thank you," Merlin thanked loudly. The druid gave the servant a low bow and the knights and the king eyed the action and Merlin suspiciously.

"What's going on here?" one of the knights asked. The other replied, simply saying he didn't know.

"So I _can _count on you? I can trust that you will keep your word?" Merlin asked the grey-haired druid.

"Of course, Emrys," Iseldir replied. Merlin didn't like it when he was called by the name Emrys. It didn't feel like his name and it made him feel fake whenever it was used. But he didn't object to it. Then, as if he'd been struck with lightning, he felt a jolt of realization. He hadn't told Arthur about the position he held among the druids.

"You are Emrys Aurelianus, King of the Druids and High King of the Old Religion. You are the one spoken of in our legends and prophecies, they speak of the young warlock named Emrys that will help the great King Arthur unite the kingdom of Albion, where magic is once again accepted and good magic can be used freely without fear. We swore our allegiance to you long before you were ever even born. We _will _aid you in your fight against Morgana, and we'll do whatever it takes," Iseldir explained. That would explain to Merlin why they'd always addressed him as 'Lord Emrys'. He'd know that he was a High King of the Old Religion. He knew that after he had defeated Nimueh. But Arthur didn't know anything about that.

Arthur's head was spinning in circles. He was almost positive that he'd heard the word King used twice when referring to Merlin. Merlin was a king? Not just any king though; a High King of the Old Religion. That alone suggested that the servant- no, the King, had very powerful magic. On top of that, he was the King of the Druids! He had an army of loyal sorcerers at his disposal! Didn't the idiot think that having his own army of sorcerers was something that he should've mentioned to Arthur?

"Thank you," Merlin replied, standing tall and proud as King Emrys. "Could you also help me contact Alator of the Catha? I think his people would be of much assistance in our current situation."

"The Catha?" Arthur shouted, unable to keep quiet any longer.

"Yes," Merlin answered not bothering to look at Arthur. Iseldir nodded and left to find who he'd been sent for.

"Merlin," Arthur began, sounding utterly lost and confused. "You're a… King?" he asked in disbelief. Merlin nodded.

"Well would you look at that! Merlin, a King! Who would've thought?" Gwaine laughed. But King Arthur wasn't taking the matter as lightly as his knight was.

"Merlin, you have an entire army of Druids ready to fight for you! You didn't think that a detail like that was important enough to tell me?"

"Arthur I couldn't tell you because I was scared! You would've had me executed!"

"No I wouldn't have, Merlin!"

"See— wait, what?" Merlin froze. He wondered if he'd actually heard those words come from Arthur's mouth.

"I wouldn't have killed you, Merlin. I would've been angry, but I wouldn't have killed you," the blonde explained quietly.

"Well, then I guess it'll be okay when I tell you that I have _two _armies ready to fight on my behalf," Merlin said quietly. It was almost inaudible.

"Two. Two? Two! You have _two _armies? Are you serious?" Arthur began to shout hysterically.

"Calm down, your majesty," Leon exclaimed grabbing Arthur's shoulder. All of the other knights stood with their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to act against Merlin if Arthur commanded it. It made Merlin nervous having all citizens of Camelot around to hear him openly declare who and _what _he was.

"Arthur, I know you're upset, I know you're angry, but you have to trust me. I have a plan that will destroy Morgana once and for all."

Arthur regained his composure and was embarrassed at how he'd reacted. His subjects were there watching him, but surely they'd understand why he reacted in such a manner. Any sane person would.

"When will this plan go into effect?" Arthur found himself asking.

"As soon as I speak with Alator," the Druid King replied. "I will explain the plan to you exclusively, though, but we'll need to talk in private."

Arthur wasn't sure why his friend wanted to talk in private, but he didn't question him. He decided it was better to just go along with everything. After all Merlin was the strongest person present, no matter how absurd the thought sounded.

Merlin needed some time to think. He had the plan in his mind, but he lacked details, and wanted Arthur's input. The King of Camelot was a master strategist and could help the plan work, even with it being as chaotic as it was.

The warlock dragged himself to the clearing. There was medium sized rock not too far from the edge of the woods that Merlin sat on, becoming lost in thought about his plan, and all the elements of it.

"_Merlin, I've found Alator of the Catha. He is willing to meet with you," _Iseldir's voice rang through his mind.

"_Wonderful! Can he come here to meet me?" _

"_We are already on our way, my lord."_

Merlin felt the wave of magic that hit before Alator and Iseldir appeared in the clearing. There was a gust of wind just like there had been when Escelia had teleported Merlin, Arthur and the knights to the druid camp.

"Emrys," Alator said approaching the warlock that still sat upon the rock. The man dropped to one knee in front of Merlin. "I understand you are in need of my assistance."

"Yes," Merlin muttered as he stood. "I have a plan to rid this world of Morgana forever, but I'll need all the help I can get. Iseldir has guaranteed me that all the surrounding Druid camps will fight along my side, and I need the Catha to fight with me as well."

"Of course we will help," Alator said rising from where he'd knelt. "I have told you before that the Catha would do anything to help you on your quest to create a better world for our kind."

Merlin smiled. "Thank you."

Merlin turned and searched for Arthur, who was staring straight at him. He waved him over with his hand.

"It's time to sort out this plan of mine," the warlock said, smiling mischievously and confidently.

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><p><strong>END NOTE- was it bad? I hope it wasn't because I put a LOT of thought into this :) I'm so proud of how well this fanfiction did that I'm sad that i'm going to end it :'( so I WILL make a sequel to this! Just because I love it so much! You'll all remain the loyal fans that you are, right? Just like Merlin is a loyal servant and friend to Arthur! ^_^ again, I'm sorry it's so short, I'll make up for it.<strong>

**~Allie-K**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN/ This is it; the start of the dramatic finale of Pulled Under. This chapter is by far the longest chapter I've written, so enjoy every word :) I really am proud of how I wrote this chapter, oh, and Original Spell Warning. I've written up my own spells for this chapter and I personally think that they're awesome. anywhoooo Read & Review please. ENJOY!**

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><p>"O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!" Merlin shouted at the sky.<p>

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked, eyeing the servant- no, the king, with suspicious eyes.

"I had to summon Kilgharrah. If my plan is to succeed, we'll need all who is involved here to hear my plan. Now a fair warning, this plan of mine… well, it's a big, sloppy mess! Kind of like Arthur's chambers!" Merlin teased.

"Hey!" Arthur shouted feeling rather offended. Merlin let his signature smile slip onto his face.

"The dragon is involved in this? How long has he been involved?" Leon asked. His sense of duty could be heard in the tone of his voice. It was the kind of tone he used when the safety of Camelot is threatened, and he sounded like the noble, honorable knight that he was.

"Well, he's been involved with the situation for quite a while. I'm involving him in this plan, but he has no knowledge of this. He will help though."

There was a great gust of wind that blew across the clearing as the humongous dragon landed not too far from the King of the Druids.

"Young warlock, I assume that the young Pendragon now has knowledge of you magic," the dragon said. Merlin nodded in confirmation. Kilgharrah looked around at all of the people standing along the edge of the forest. The dragon looked down at its master skeptically.

"Why have you called me here?" the dragon asked.

"I have a plan to defeat Morgana once and for all, but I'll need your help," Merlin explained, looking up at the dragon pleadingly.

"A plan?" Kilgharrah asked. He sighed with annoyance. "What is it you need to know?"

"How…" Merlin stopped. It was particularly unusual that he thought of it at that moment, but didn't he always ask the same question? 'How do I save Camelot?' Merlin knew the answer to that this time. He'd know it for years, but didn't acknowledge it. He needed to destroy Morgana. Kilgharrah had told him that a hundred times before, yet he never listened. He'd listen this time, and instead of asking for advice, he'd ask for help.

"I need you to fly over Camelot and determine the state it's in. I need you to be our look-out. Can you do this for me?" the warlock asked kindly, but strongly.

The dragon drew back its head slightly in surprise.

"You aren't going to ask me how to defeat the witch?"

"No," Merlin replied, inclining his head. "Time and time again you'd told me that Morgana must be destroyed in order to ensure Camelot's safety, and time and time again, I ignored you. This time, I'm finally listening, but this is my battle to be fought. I brought this upon Camelot; this is of my doing and now I must fix the damage I have caused."

Everyone was silent and even the usually loud, heavy breaths of the dragon could barely be heard.

"I will help you," Kilgharrah finally said. Merlin's eyes shot up to face the dragon and a smile lit up his face.

"Thank you!" he shouted gratefully.

"So, what is this plan of yours, young warlock?" the dragon asked.

"Well that kind of depends on the state of Camelot," Merlin said slowly and carefully. With a nod the dragon took off for Camelot without a word.

"What is he doing?" Arthur asked the way he always does when he's angry.

"He's going to check the state of Camelot, I assume," Alator said.

"Correct," Merlin confirmed. "Now, without even knowing Kilgharrah's findings, I already know that this plan will be a messy one, as I've said before. We very well may need to rebuild half of Camelot when this war is done."

"War!" Arthur shouted.

"Arthur, calm down and listen to me! Morgana is strong, and no doubt will have some kind of shield around the castle, so we'll need to lure her out."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Arthur asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me. You see, I have the powerful magic, the Catha and the Druids will strengthen us in number, and you Arthur, you can help in strategy," Merlin explained.

The king smiled proudly. Merlin needed _him_ in order for his plan to succeed. Once again, Merlin was the pathetic, useless fool he'd always known. The world once again made sense to Arthur Pendragon.

"More than likely, Morgana will want to have the pleasure of killing me herself, so she'll probably try to have us captured. If all of our forces appear at the gates, though, she may leave the castle to take us on herself with her men," Arthur said. Everyone nodded in agreement. "So I guess that we can show up at the gate."

Leon and Gwaine had wandered over to where the small group stood.

"I couldn't help but overhear a small part of this plan, so can I just be involved?" Gwaine laughed. With a short and annoyed "fine" from Arthur, the two knights settled into the circle.

"So we're just going to show up at the gates… but what if Morgana doesn't come out?" Alator asked.

"Then we fight our way to the castle. If we take out most of her men, she'll have no choice but to defend the castle herself," Merlin said confidently.

"What about all of the instruments of magic that are in the vaults? Surely she wouldn't just leave them there," Leon said. He had a point too. If she could get into the vaults then there was no guarantee that she'd leave its contents alone.

Arthur's hand lowered to his belt where his keys usually hung. They weren't there.

"Arthur even without the keys, Morgana still could've gotten into the vaults," Merlin announced, noticing the king's hand searching for the keys. "She does have magic remember?"

"So there is every possibility that she will use the artifacts in the vaults of Camelot… against us?" Iseldir asked angrily, no doubt because had Uther left most of the artifacts with the druids, they wouldn't have to deal with that scenario.

"Don't worry. She can't get into the vaults," Merlin proclaimed smiling. Everyone looked at him with confusion. "I put an enchantment around the vaults when I'd overheard Agravaine talking with Morgana one night. It wasn't too long before they'd invaded Camelot. No one can get into the vaults, and nothing is coming out." Merlin smiled widely. He was proud of himself for taking such measures.

Arthur slapped a heavy hand across Merlin's back then leaned on his friend, placing his elbow on Merlin's shoulder.

"Good job, Merlin… for once." He added the last bit smiling. "What did happen to my keys, by the way?"

Merlin lifted his clutched fist.

"Lætaþ hwelc is deogollice wesan funde," he muttered. His eyes flashed gold and a glittering light filtered through his knuckles. He opened his hand, revealing Arthur's missing keys.

"What-? How did you-?" Arthur stuttered at the sight of his keys floating freely in Merlin's hand.

"Magic. I took them and… hid them after we escaped from Camelot," he said softly, his eyes on the keys.

"Well, isn't that a nifty trick?" Gwaine laughed. Merlin nodded.

"Wiht acwincan," Merlin said, and again his eyes flashed gold. He closed his hand around the keys tightly and they were completely hidden by Merlin's hand. Actually, they were hidden altogether. When Merlin reopened his hand, the keys were gone.

"Okay, enough with that please?" Arthur asked. He was getting a headache from all of this, mainly because he didn't understand any of it.

"What do we do if Morgana still doesn't come out of the castle?" Leon asked. Merlin opened his mouth to speak but another gust of wind filled the clearing as Kilgharrah returned.

"Merlin, I fear this battle is going to be much harder than we thought," the dragon said worriedly as he landed next to his master once again. "Morgana has Mordred at her side."

"Merlin, does that change anything?" Arthur asked. Merlin stared off into space in fear.

"Oh, yes. It pretty much changes everything," Merlin replied quietly. A small smile crawled onto his face.

"Why are you smiling?" Gwaine snorted.

"Morgana has a strange connection with the boy Mordred. She cares for him dearly. If we threaten his life, there is no way that Morgana will ignore it. She will attack us, and we won't have to worry about getting into the castle," Merlin said.

"Smart man," Arthur commented smiling at Merlin. He stepped away from Merlin and began pacing. "Now we just need to figure out the rest of the plan."

"You will help me get to Morgana. The Catha and the Druids will help take out Morgana's men while your knights and the citizens who are offering their help clear the city. They'll need to get every citizen of Camelot out of the city to safety. Once that is done they can help take out Morgana's men," Merlin began to explain. Arthur and his knights were amazed at how Merlin was taking control of the situation and gladly let him. He sounded like he knew exactly what he was doing, and quite honestly, his plan was well, brilliant!

"What will we do about Mordred?" Iseldir asked. Merlin was silent for a moment.

"I'm not sure yet, but as soon as I am, I'll let you know," Merlin said smiling, then he continued explaining the rest of the plan. "If someone can somehow get into the castle, they can go to the dungeons and free the rest of the knights, and can take out the warning bell, just because the sound of that thing is unbelievably annoying," Merlin said bring a hand to cover his ear, exaggerating his point further. "If we must, we can take on Morgana in the main square, but I'd rather try to lure her out of the city to avoid too much damage."

"Or, if we could somehow get into the castle before Morgana and her men are aware that we are there, we could take out the warning bell and take her by surprise." Leon suggested.

"No, that wouldn't work. There's no way that we can get enough people in there in time to dispose of Morgana's men before we're all killed," Merlin said leaning his elbow on the rock and placing his chin in his hand. Leon began to protest but Arthur spoke up announcing,

"Merlin's right. Morgana will have lots of men as well as magic, and if we can't get enough people in there in time, the battle will be lost before it's even begun."

"There's still the matter of how to deliver the threat to Morgana. How are we to contact her?" Leon asked. He seemed annoyed but at what, no one had a clue.

"Well, I can most likely communicate with her telepathically. Even if she can't hear me, Mordred will and I can guarantee that. How I'm going to get close enough for her to hear though…" Merlin trailed off.

"I believe that I can help with that," Kilgharrah said lowering himself to the ground so that Merlin could climb aboard. Merlin climbed up onto the dragon and they took off toward Camelot.

"Merlin, I am proud of you," the gold dragon said as they flew through the sky. "but, you lack the knowledge on how to destroy the witch. So, I will help you further, young warlock, because the witch must be destroyed!"

"Where are you going?" Merlin asked peering down at the forest below him. "This isn't the way to Camelot."

"I know. It is the way to a particular _lake_."

Lake? Merlin had no idea why they'd be going to a lake, but he had a sense that somehow, the dragon had known about Freya.

The dragon landed next to the lake that Merlin had let Freya go to rest in. Merlin hopped off of the dragon and walked to the water's edge.

"Freya, I don't know if you can hear me, but I wanted to thank you for what you had done for me." Merlin fell to his knees and they splashed into the shallow water. "There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think of you," he managed to choked out, letting a tear of pain streak down his cheek. He shut his eyes tightly, fighting back the tears.

"And there isn't a day when I don't think of you," her voice said. Merlin thought he was just imagining things, but a soft gentle hand brushed against his cheek. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Freya," Merlin breathed as he took in the sight of his love. He stood and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Merlin," Freya breathed wrapping her arms around Merlin in return. "Oh, how I have missed you."

They stayed like that for a few minutes longer. Merlin felt warm and safe in Freya's arms, which was ironic since Freya was dead. But the thought somehow made Merlin fell a bit more at ease. Freya was already dead, so no harm could come to her from the battle with the witch, and if Merlin died, he'd be with Freya once more.

"Merlin," Freya spoke gently. "I know how you can defeat the witch," she said into his ear.

"How, then? How do I defeat Morgana and Mordred? Freya, I'm scared," he muttered.

"Shh," she said soothingly stroking Merlin's soft, dark hair. "I know you are scared, but let my love protect you; let it guide you through the dark, Merlin. Love can conquer all."

Merlin pulled away looking into Freya's eyes longingly.

"I know," he replied.

"Light is the answer," she continued. She leaned up and whispered something into Merlin's ear. "The light of good can conquer all evil, just as love can. Now you must go, Merlin."

The warlock nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Merlin," Freya said clasping his hand in her own. "I love you."

Merlin drew Freya in closer, gently pushing strands of hair from her face.

"And I love you," he said softly, leaning in and kissing Freya gently on the lips. With that, the Lady of the Lake stepped away from her lover and descended back into the water.

"Goodbye," Merlin said with a toneless voice. He walked out of the shallow water and climbed back aboard the dragon. They took off again and flew toward Camelot.

"Thank you… for taking me there," Merlin said quietly.

"There is no need to thank me. I believe that she gave you the information necessary to defeat the witch," the old creature said.

"Yes, now all we have to do is break the news to Morgana that we're going to kill Mordred," Merlin said smiling slightly. He knew that whatever happened, he had to defeat Morgana and Mordred, but what happened afterward… well as long as Camelot was safe, he'd be happy. He could die and be happy as long as his destiny was fulfilled.

"We will be flying over the castle shortly; get ready, Merlin."

As they neared the castle, Merlin could hear the sound of Mordred in his head.

"_Morgana, it is I, Emrys, and I have a little bit of information for you. In one hour, I am going to come to the gates of Camelot, enter the city, and kill your beloved Mordred. I guess you better stop me, eh?"_

"_NO!" _Morgana's scream could be heard by both Kilgharrah and Merlin.

'That ought to do it' Merlin thought to himself satisfied.

"That was rather harsh, Merlin," the dragon smiled. "It is sure to upset the witch immensely. Your plan may yet succeed," the dragon said cheerfully and Merlin and Kilgharrah flew back to meet Arthur and the others once more.

They landed in the clearing and Merlin eagerly jumped off of the dragon and rushed to Arthur's side.

"It's all set; Morgana's taken the bait. We have one hour to make it to the gates of Camelot."

That was it; the moment when the battle for Camelot truly begun.

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><p><strong>END NOTE- what did you think? Are you just dying to know what's going to happen next? well guess what. SO AM I! HAHA Oh yea about my original spells, here are their translations.<strong>

**-Lætaþ hwelc is deogollice wesan funde  
>(Let what is hidden be found)<strong>

**- Wiht acwincan  
>(CreaturePerson/Thing vanish)**

**I can almost promise you that these are NOT grammatically correct, but each individual word does translate directly. I have a really cool sounding spell that I'm using in the next chapter so be prepared! I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time...**

**~Allie-K **


	14. Chapter 14

**AN/ sorry this chapter is kinda short. But on the bright side, it'll make the story just a little bit longer. I wanted to update this last night but as most of you probably know, the Doc Manager was down. So here it is... the next chapter! ENJOY!**

"You got the message to Morgana then?" Leon asked. Merlin had never seen the man acting so cautiously before. Then again, this wasn't a situation that Leon was used to. He was a loyal knight of Camelot. He had been there even under Uther's rule and therefore still had many doubts about magic. It was only to be expected. The plan that they'd just set into action involved magic, and lots of it. Almost every one of Leon's instincts told him that the users of magic couldn't be trusted, yet every fiber of his being screamed that Merlin could. Still, the wariness toward magic remained.

"I got the message to Morgana," Merlin confirmed. "And she is furious," the warlock laughed. He'd done his job well.

"So, it's set then. We will set off for Camelot at once. I'll explain the plan to my men," Arthur announced heading towards the edge of the trees.

"And we'll explain it to everyone else," Merlin confirmed. But he didn't really need to explain anything. He and Iseldir had kept the rest of the druids updated as they worked out the plan, telepathically. They knew what was going on, and even though the druids were mostly against violence, they all completely agreed that the witch, Morgana, had to be stopped. Strangely enough, Alator had managed to inform the rest of the Catha of the plan without Merlin noticing.

"They will be at the gates of Camelot with us," Alator assured. Merlin replied with a 'thank you' and sat back to wait. Sure, they still had lots to do, but that included preparing Arthur's men to leave as well. Nothing could be done until everyone else was aware of the plan, and at the moment, Arthur was still explaining it to the knights and citizens.

"I don't like it!" one peasant shouted. A knight stepped closer to Arthur.

"We should cut down every last one of them, sire. Were your father still alive, he would strongly disapprove of this. This could be a trap! You know you cannot trust a sorcerer!" he growled through his teeth in a hushed tone.

"We _can_ trust Merlin. He has been a faithful and loyal friend of Camelot for years now! He's been a loyal friend to a friend to me…" the shouted back. His voice quieted as he mentioned Merlin being his friend. Arthur had admitted it openly. Merlin was his friend.

"He could be dangerous! He chose to practice magic after all!"

Merlin's gaze drifted to the shouting king and his subjects. 'Merlin can be trusted,' the blonde had shouted. 'He's talking about me,' Merlin confirmed. Arthur was standing up for him, but his people still feared magic. Merlin walked over to the king and the entire group seemed to tense.

"Ah, Merlin," Arthur said smiling, clapping his hand on Merlin's shoulder. He almost immediately regretted it, remembering the boy's injuries, but Merlin didn't mind. Actually, he didn't seem to notice them at all, so Arthur left his hand there.

"My people don't believe they can trust you," Arthur stated in a disapproving tone. "Can you help me put this ridiculous belief to rest?"

"It's not ridiculous," Merlin announced, saying it as if it were obvious, because, it was. "They've lived in a kingdom with a king that has told them that magic is evil. It's only natural that they'd be skeptical."

Arthur stared at Merlin a bit confused. Merlin seemed to be okay with everyone not trusting him, but the young man began talking again, directing his attention at the citizens and knights.

"I know you fear magic," he said. "It is what you've been told to do probably your whole life, but, I assure you, not all magic is evil. Magic can be used for good, just like a sword, or a crossbow."

The people didn't seem to believe him, but their faces did soften considerably. They almost all knew Merlin, or at least knew who he was having seen him about the town with Gaius or King Arthur. They loved him for his cheerful nature and constant, caring smile. Honestly, how could anyone hate Merlin?

Arthur confidently decided that if anyone could change his peoples' view on magic, Merlin could, just like he'd done with Arthur.

Merlin stepped forward and clasped his hands together, taking a deep breath. He was going to perform magic in front of them, so what would he do if they got scared and decided to try and kill him? Everyone held their breath, awaiting the dark-haired man's next action.

"Blostma," Merlin whispered. His eyes flashed gold and a woman standing nearby, no older than Merlin himself, gasped in surprise and probably in fear as well. Merlin opened his hands, revealing a small, red rose. Merlin let a small smile slip onto his face. He'd hoped that the spell would do that, just as it had when he was trying to make a strawberry for Freya. It was a simple, harmless spell, and was just what he'd needed.

A rose? The young woman couldn't fathom why the boy, who they called Merlin, had only conjured a _rose_. Merlin held the small flower out to her and shyly, she took the stem. Merlin gave her a kind smile and her cheeks burned a rosy pink. This boy was so kind and gentle. She'd seen his smiling face around the town before and never once seen an ounce of evil in the boy's heart. She even remembered him tending to her ill, younger brother at one point with the Court Physician. The young man, Merlin, had magic, but he was far from evil.

Everyone was amazed with the beauty of the rose, and some, like the woman, began to feel their fear and hatred melt away.

"Not everyone who practices magic is evil," Merlin said softly. "But there are those who abuse the power they have. Morgana is one such person," he explained, his tone becoming serious.

"It was magic that corrupted the Lady Morgana's heart!" someone shouted. They were obviously still a nonbeliever.

"No. Her heart was corrupted long before the magic was ever there."

The man was about to protest but Merlin continued talking, deciding he wanted to get his point across.

"I didn't choose to practice magic, I was born with it. I just chose to use my magic for the right thing. I have protected Camelot and all who live there for years now. If you choose not to trust me, then don't. I can't force you to change your mind, but know that if you do choose to fight today, you aren't fighting for a sorcerer or a warlock. You aren't fighting for the Druids or the Catha; you aren't even fighting for your King. If you choose to fight today, you will be fighting for your family and friends, your safety and your freedom… you will be fighting for your home. You will be fighting for Camelot!"

Everyone found themselves nodding in agreement with the warlock's words. This fight was for Camelot and everything it stood for, nothing more.

Arthur felt a spark of inspiration and motivation surge through him as Merlin's words rang through the air. The man's speech was astounding and he even felt himself nodding in agreement. No wonder the king allowed his manservant to write some of his speeches.

The king stepped forward and unsheathed his sword.

"What say you?" Arthur asked the group. The air was filled with an assortment of yells and battle cries all in favor of fighting for their home. Arthur lifted Excalibur high above him, posing tall and proud.

"For the love of Camelot!" Arthur shouted, and his people echoed his cry. Merlin smiled with satisfaction.

"For the love of Camelot!" Merlin shouted, joining in with the chanting.

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><p><strong>END NOTE- again, sorry its so short. and sorry for not paying attention to grammar or anything in these AN's in this one. i've got school this morning... well i hope they cancel it. Have one hint for you all... it starts with 'r' and ends in 'eview'! LOLZ <strong>

**~Allie-K**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN/ Hey all! I am SO SORRY that this has taken me ages to finish! You probably all hate me now, but hey, I finally finished this story! Would you look at that! Anyways, I started watching the anime Fairy Tail, so I got a little bored with Merlin. I haven't posted any Fairy Tail fanfics yet because I wanted to finish this one first. This chapter definitely isn't the greatest though. I was a little too lazy to put in lots of detail. and it's not the longest either... sorry 'bout that. I hope you waited for this chapter though. Oh gosh I just feel so bad for keeping you all waiting this long. but I think I'll shut up and let you read the chapter now. Heck, you probably don't even read my author's notes anyways, so without further ado, I give you the end of Pulled Under! **

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><p>The march from the forest was almost silent, yet the air roared with an unspoken anxiety. Nervous glances were being shot from one person to another, then to another, and another, and then another. The fear everyone felt was an obvious thing. After all, they were going up against Morgana.<p>

It was the march to Camelot's gate that kept everyone alert. Well, not so much alert, but awake. Most were terrified, so they tried not to think. It worked for the most part. The men focused on keeping their feet moving forward. _Left, right, left, right. _When the time came, they would stand tall for Arthur, and attack the enemy fearlessly, just as they always had.

They finally arrived at the gates of Camelot, greeted by an army ready to fight for their false Queen. Morgana hid at the back of the group, her cloak wrapped protectively around young Mordred. She glared at Merlin and Arthur, then at all the men and women who stood behind them, equally as ready to fight as Morgana's army. Her face harbored a look of disgust and hatred, but, she looked _scared_.

'_So, a trace of the old Morgana still remains, huh?' _Merlin thought. Oddly enough, Morgana's hateful stare wasn't directed at Merlin. It wandered over the men and women behind him and Arthur. _'How come it seems like the whole of Camelot is just so dense? Not very open-minded, are they?' _Merlin thought again, almost surprised that he was just now realizing that.

There was another long moment of silence and heated stares, then, before anyone really realized what had happened, the whole scene erupted into chaos. _**(AN/: Sorry about the lack of description here. I was just too lazy to write it all out.)**_Merlin was picking off people left and right, sending their unconscious bodies flying, while Arthur swung his sword around viscously, skillfully cutting his opponents down where they stood. The rest of Merlin and Arthur's army followed suit. Merlin gritted his teeth in frustration. He needed to find Morgana. He just needed to find her.

"Mordred, head inside the castle! Hide!" Morgana screeched in panic. She muttered a spell and sent an attacker flying away from her. She was going to fight. Of course she was, but she was so worried about Mordred. She never truly understood why she cared for him so much; all she knew was that she did.

"No!" Mordred protested. "I'm going to stay and fight at your side, Morgana!" He let out a wave of magic that left three more men on the ground unconscious. "I'm not useless, you know!"

"Of course you're not," Morgana said with an evil smirk. She smiled slightly. "Why don't we go find this all-powerful Emrys?"

"There is no need," Mordred said simply. "I already know where he is."

"You what?" the witch shouted. "Who is he? Where is he?"

Mordred pointed his index finger at the dark-haired servant. "Merlin," was all he said.

"No, you must be mistaken. There is no way that incompetent fool is Emrys!" she snapped. "He may be annoying and troublesome, but he is no sorcerer."

Morgana trusted Mordred, of course, but the idea of Merlin being Emrys was just something that she couldn't wrap her mind around. So, she simply refused to believe anything of the sort.

"Fine," the young sorcerer sighed. "You may see soon enough. Why don't we take care of all these people quickly?" he suggested.

"That sounds like a fine idea," Morgana said as an evil grin spread across her face. The two spun and let their backs meet. They lifted one arm out to their side; their hands joined, and began to mutter a spell. _**(AN/: The stance is similar to the one used in Fairy Tail for Unison Raid)**_ Almost all action stopped as the ground began to shake violently. It cracked and split and crumbled.

"What is this magic?" Arthur shouted at Merlin. Merlin stuttered. He had no idea. He'd never seen anything like it before in his life. The debris of the streets and other various destroyed things rose into the air, clumping together. The clump grew and grew, gaining mass and forming some kind of monster it seemed. And it did form some kind of monster. The thing was enormous! Its still figure began to move and then it let out a gut wrenching roar. _**(AN/: I'm too lazy to describe the monster, but it kind of looks like the Green Death from HTTYD) **_

Merlin wracked his brain for some kind of spell that would be strong enough to kill the beast, but it seemed nothing he could use would be strong enough. Merlin bit his lip and held back his tears that formed from his frustration. He couldn't get this far just to fail now. Suddenly, as if on cue, the answer hit him like a ton of bricks and rang through his mind like a chiming bell.

"_The light of good can conquer all evil, just as love can. Remember that, Merlin."_

Freya's words rang in Merlin's mind and he knew what he had to do to defeat the monstrous beast that Morgana and Mordred had created. Summoning all the power he possessed, he raised his hand toward it.

"Fordilgian þa yfel mid loeht! Lætan þa mare næfre edwendan!" he shouted, and a brilliant white light enveloped the monster. The beast screamed out in pain and it cracked and shattered, and finally fell into dust.

Arthur stared in fear at the sight of the monster crumbling into nothing. Merlin can do that? Merlin has that kind of power? Arthur began to fear the young boy for a moment, but he couldn't truly fear Merlin. They were on the same team, and had been since the very beginning. Morgana, however, feared him more than anything else in the world and the fear and terror shown on her face was proof of that.

"No!" Morgana screamed. "No, you can't be! Mordred has to be wrong! You can't be Emrys! You just can't!"

Mordred looked as if he were uninterested in the expression Morgana wore.

"You didn't believe that I am Emrys?" Merlin asked the witch, feeling rather confident. _"Iseldir, get Arthur and the knights out of her," _Merlin told the druid with his mind._ "Get them as far away as you can, because I don't know how this is going to end."_

"_Right away, Emrys," _the druid answered.

"You are strong indeed to have the power to defeat our monster," Mordred said calmly. Morgana was still in shock. No doubt she'd never seen such powerful magic used before her very eyes until that moment.

"Ah, don't let me take all the credit. You yourself aren't too bad. It must've taken great power to summon a beast such as the one I just destroyed," the warlock said, playing with the enemy for a bit of fun. He'd never been able to use his magic so openly before, and although there was a possibility of him dying, he wanted to have fun with the opportunity. He knew he may never get one in the future, so he was going to make the most of it.

"King Arthur, you have to instruct your men to come with me," Iseldir said.

"Men, follow Iseldir! NOW!" the king shouted. As the first few men retreated, the others began to follow.

"What about you?" Lancelot asked.

"I will stay here and—"

"No you won't," the druid said cutting him off. "Lord Emrys has instructed me to get your men _and_ you away to safety!"

"But what about Merlin? Surely it is still as dangerous for him as it is for us!"

"Yes, but this is his battle, and he is not sure what will come of his next move. His concern is for you, Arthur."

Arthur blinked for a moment. Everything that idiot ever did was basically for Arthur. After all that he'd put Merlin through, surely he owed something to the boy. Arthur nodded at Iseldir and ran, following Iseldir to a considerable safer place. Yes, if Arthur owed anything to Merlin, it was for him to actually listen to him for once. So, Arthur ran without questioning anything.

Merlin faced Mordred and Morgana with a determined look on his face. He didn't want to kill Morgana, so he wouldn't. He had something else in mind. He just hoped that it would work.

"So I take it you're going to try and kill me now?" Morgana questioned with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Something like that, but no," he replied. Both Morgana and Mordred gave a look of confusion. They tried to understand what he meant, and Merlin took advantage of the opportunity. They were distracted. His hand flew out in front of him.

"Abreotan!" Merlin focused on Morgana's thoughts, her memories, and her magic. He tried to do the same with Mordred, but found it difficult. He wasn't even sure if the boy's fragile body could handle such an impact. Lost in concentration, Merlin could hear the cries and screams of pain coming from the two. _'Focus, Merlin! I can do this! Her memories and magic; focus on those!' _Merlin yelled at himself inwardly. And he did just that. He concentrated until he sensed some kind of 'crack' or 'snap'. An explosion of white light followed and Merlin shielded his eyes from the blinding rays. The light faded and Merlin cracked his eyes open to look at the remains of the spell. There was Morgana, lying on the ground, unconscious. But, Mordred wasn't there. Merlin frowned slightly. So he hadn't survived pressure of the spell.

The spell he'd used was a destructive spell, meant to destroy and kill. However, Merlin had thought that maybe he could destroy their magic and memories, rather than destroying them entirely. He'd wormed the spell into their minds, and the spell put pressure on their bodies; trying to break them apart. Merlin had tried hard to control that part of the spell, but because of the nature of the spell, there was bound to be some kind of physical effect toward them. As he'd feared, Mordred's frail body couldn't handle the pressure, and most likely burst apart, crumbling into ash.

His eyes remained on Morgana and he stared thoughtfully. He didn't sense any magic coming from her, so at least that part worked for him. Her memories, however, were another story.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted as he ran towards his friend. He'd begun to run back after the blast of light faded from the area.

"Where is Mordred?" Iseldir called, following behind Arthur.

"Dead," Merlin choked out. Arthur let out a laugh and slapped a hand down on the warlock's shoulder.

"Well done!" he praised. "What about Morgana, though? Is she dead?" Merlin shook his head.

"Not dead, but she can't do anything now."

"What! You mean you let her live?" the king cried.

"I was able to destroy her magic," Merlin stated simply. "I tried to destroy her memories, but I don't know if that worked."

"It worked!" one of the Druids shouted excitedly. "I looked into her mind and all of her memories are gone now!" The druid had approached Morgana in the midst of Arthur's praise toward Merlin. Everyone broke into cheers and squeals of excitement. Cheers of relief and joy rang through the now half-destroyed city of Camelot.

"We did it," Merlin breathed out happily. A smile grew on his face.

"No," Arthur said, putting his arm around Merlin's shoulder, pulling him into a friendly side hug. "_You_ did it."

"Thanks Arthur," Merlin laughed. "I suppose I did."

"You know, maybe you won't make such a bad Court Sorcerer and Royal Adviser," Arthur commented.

"Wait- What?"

"You are now to be the Court Sorcerer and my personal, Royal Adviser."

"Pfft, sounds boring," Merlin joked.

"Well, too bad, because you don't have a choice," Arthur smiled. He gave Merlin's arm a pat as he began to walk away. The warlock let out a breath.

"Yeah, didn't think so." Merlin smiled as he followed Arthur. Everything somehow worked out. And boy, did that give everyone a good feeling.

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><p><strong>END NOTE: I finally finished! Yay for me! I feel so proud! Review for me would you? I feel like I don't deserve it because of how long I mode you guys wait for this, but still. Reviews make me HAPPY! oh yeah, and:<strong>

**_Fordilgian þa yfel mid loeht! Lætan þa mare næfre edwendan! _means destroy the evil with light. Let the monster/nightmare never return.**

_**Abreotan**_**means destroy/kill**

**I had fun writing this story for the most part. Your guys' support made all of it even better! I feel like this story was a BIG success, though i'm probably just imagining it. YAY my first finished story! well i hope you guys had as much fun reading this as i had writing it. There may be a sequal, so keep your eyes peeled. I love you all!**

**~Allie-K**


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